Authors Note: wright whales travel from Jacksonville Florida to this island as I have for this story.
Long before the white man came to the island, the Indians salvaged dead whales that drifted ashore, recognizing the value of the oil and meat that could be extracted. It is thought that island inhabitants began to whale “alongshore” in 1690, pursuing the right whale from the south shore in 20-foot whaleboats manned by six person crews. The Indians and the white settlers were not rivals for the prize, but manned the boats together and shared the spoils that were valuable enough for a small industry to build up around them. It was not until a small sloop was blown out to sea by a gale in 1712 that the sperm whale was discovered to be the source of the finest quality oil, with quantities of it stored in its great head. Soon islanders were pursuing sperm whales along the Gulf Stream edges between Bermuda and the Carolinas and as far north as the Arctic Circle. So the age of Nantucket’s greatest prosperity began and the long sea voyages of Nantucket whale men – which could last for years at a time – became legendary for their feats of endurance, courage and tragedy. For nearly 100 years –from the mid-1700s to the late 1830s – the island was the whaling capital of the world, with as many as 150 ships making port in Nantucket during its peak.
As Nantucketers’ whaling voyages took them farther from their home, the crews of these ships became more diverse. Cape Verdean men played a key role in Nantucket’s whaling industry in the 18th and 19th centuries, seeking relief from the dry spells that plagued their archipelago islands situated 400 miles off Western Africa. With drought and famine common on Cape Verde, and unable to support their families through local fishing or agriculture, Cape Verdean men began seeking opportunity by signing onto Nantucket whale ships. Between 1825 and 1875, an average of 100 whale ships called on Cape Verde each year for men, supplies and leisure. By the 1840s, approximately 8 percent of the Nantucket whale ship crews were Cape Verdean.
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