Whaling in Nineteenth-Century Massachusetts
Investigate American whaling in the age of sail, and its effects on the politics, economy, and culture of Massachusetts. Whaling provided men and women of the Commonwealth with new opportunities for financial and cultural exchange. Using documents from the MHS and Leventhal Map Center, we will explore the lives of sailors, whaling wives and entrepreneurs, and trace the expanding geographical horizons afforded by the whaling industry. On August 5th we will take a field trip to New Bedford, Massachusetts, the largest whaling port in the world by the 1830s. We will visit the New Bedford Whaling Museum to explore art and artifacts from whaling voyages that spanned the globe, and take a walking tour of the city whose whale oil "lit the world."
This program is open to educators and history enthusiasts. Educators can earn 22.5 PDPs and one graduate credit (for an additional fee).
Dates: August 4 & 5, 2016
Times: 9:00am - 5:00pm
Fee: $75 per person
To Register / For more information: complete this registration form, or contact the education department at education@masshist.org or 617-646-0557.
Program Highlights
- Explore the Society's collection of letters, journals, and printed materials related to whailng.
- Invetigate maps and logbooks at the Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library.
- Tour the histori waterfront of New Bedford with a ranger from the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park.
- Visit the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
This program is funded in part by the Richard E. Saltonstall Charitable Foundation.