Whaling Captains of Color

America's First Meritocracy

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Pub Date 15 Jun 2020 | Archive Date 19 Jan 2021

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Description

The history of whaling as an industry on this continent has been well-told in books, including some that have been bestsellers, but what hasn’t been told is the story of whaling’s leaders of color in an era when the only other option was slavery. Whaling was one of the first American industries to exhibit diversity. A man became a captain not because he was white or well connected, but because he knew how to kill a whale. Along the way, he could learn navigation and reading and writing. Whaling presented a tantalizing alternative to mainland life.

Working with archival records at whaling museums, in libraries, from private archives and interviews with people whose ancestors were whaling masters, Finley culls stories from the lives of over 50 black whaling captains to create a portrait of what life was like for these leaders of color on the high seas.

Each time a ship spotted a whale, a group often including the captain would jump into a small boat, row to the whale, and attack it, at times with the captain delivering the killing blow. The first, second, or third mate and boat steerer could eventually have opportunities to move into increasingly responsible roles. Finley explains how this skills-based system propelled captains of color to the helm.

The book concludes as facts and factions conspire to kill the industry, including wars, weather, bad management, poor judgment, disease, obsolescence, and a non-renewable natural resource. Ironically, the end of the Civil War allowed the African Americans who were captains to exit the difficult and dangerous occupation—and make room for the Cape Verdean who picked up the mantle, literally to the end of the industry.

The history of whaling as an industry on this continent has been well-told in books, including some that have been bestsellers, but what hasn’t been told is the story of whaling’s leaders of color in...


Advance Praise

“In this engaging new volume, Skip Finley has written a comprehensive account of the over fifty sailors of color who rose to captain America’s great whaling ships. Meticulously researched, Whaling Captains of Color provides an overview of the 200 years of industrial whaling, a profession in which a relative meritocracy existed. In addition, Finley provides a critically important analysis of the social and legal conditions on land which encouraged so many people of color to brave the dangers of the sea.” —Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor, Harvard University
“The story of people of color in the whaling industry is a fascinating and hitherto unexplored subject enough, but Skip Finley’s brilliant survey of the black captains and crew of the New England whale fisheries takes it one step further. His swift and sure narrative is excitingly told, bringing a fresh and vibrant focus to a vital part of American, and indeed global, history.” —Philip Hoare, author of The Whale

“Skip Finley provides a fascinating portrait of the turbulent and fraught world of the men of color who not only were whalemen, but also became leaders in one of America's most iconic industries. Whaling Captains of Color is a most welcome and long overdue addition to the literature, and one which will hopefully spur others to dig deeper into this important aspect of whaling history.” —Eric Jay Dolin, author of Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America

“Much more than a prodigious work of scholarship, Whaling Captains of Color is also an entertaining read that puts the focus where it properly belongs: on the multicultural essence of a fishery that spanned the globe. Highly recommended.” —Nathaniel Philbrick, author of In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
Whaling Captains of Color by Skip Finley is a fascinating exploration of the lives of multicultural whalemen, mostly unknown to us until now, during the eighteenth and nineteenth century in America…. Skip Finley thoughtfully honors and illustrates how the men of color in this book shaped commercial whaling, one of America’s earliest global industries. I highly recommend this book.” —Alicia Carney, Nantucket Book Festival

“In Whaling Captains of Color, Island writer Skip Finley has produced an extraordinary work that will change your perspective on the highly romanticized whaling era in American history, and the role of people of color in a trade that brought whalers fortunes and death.” —Martha’s Vineyard Times

Whaling Captains of Color: America’s First Meritocracy is an examination of a fascinating quirk in America’s history of race relations…. It follows its cast of characters to their lives after the whaling industry had ended, continuing to illuminate an important chapter in American history.” —Vineyard Gazette

“Finley follows the history of more than fifty black and native Americans who became whale ship captains, ship owners, and chandlers (running businesses supplying whaling ships). Revealed is a fascinating tale of the rise and fall of family whaling and shipping dominions run by men of color. This is placed against the backdrop of both American society and whaling during the period. Whaling Captains of Color examines both an industry critical to America’s industrialization, the people that worked in it, and the dynamics that created a color-blind meritocracy in a color-conscious era.” —Ricochet

“In this engaging new volume, Skip Finley has written a comprehensive account of the over fifty sailors of color who rose to captain America’s great whaling ships. Meticulously researched, Whaling...


Available Editions

EDITION Hardcover
ISBN 9781682475096
PRICE $42.00 (USD)

Average rating from 8 members


Featured Reviews

As I am interested in everything naval and everything whale, I really wanted to read this book. This is a topic you never hear or read anything about! My interest in whaling began as I started to become a Sea Shepherd supporter and they have an extensive history with whalers.

This is a wonderfully well researched collection of stories about whaling captains of colour. As you can imagine I really don't support whaling of any kind but I do realise people earned their money and food with it for many years now. So I can respect these men for working hard and proving themselves to their bosses so they can move up in rank and become captains themselves.

The stories are accompanied with great photos or drawings. These are wonderful to give a face to the names and help set the mood more to understand the conditions these men worked in. This book has some wonderful details, for example there's a list that one doctor/captain took aboard a whaling ship that shows the items in a medicine chest for various ailments. I love reading little history-tidbits like that!

Do notice that this book is quite specific and in-depth. If you're just looking for a casual read - this is not for you. If you have interest in any of the things I named above, please pick up this book as it's a wonderful source of information.

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A valuable and much overdue account of the role black whalers played in one of the most important industries in 19th-century America.

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***I was granted an ARC of this via Netgalley from the publisher.***

Not so long ago, many people of color in the United States did not have many options for employment. When they did find it, they faced an uphill battle in advancing up the ladder. However, in the book, Whaling Captains of Color: America's First Meritocracy, Skip Finley reveals that the whaling industry was one place where a man of color could move up through the ranks and become Master (captain) of a ship. Finley shows how Native Americans, American Blacks, and Cape Verdeans worked on this whaling vessels and became masters of them. Not only does he relate their individual stories but he mixes it with what the whaling industry was and life aboard a whaling vessel. These men did face racism but on a whaling vessel where life was hard and death always near, whether or not a man could do his job well overcame whatever racism the crew may have felt. This book does a good job of relating the accomplishments of these men. of color and their role in making whaling a successful endeavor. I recommend this book for anyone interested in whaling or the achievements of people of color.

Rating: 4/5 stars. Would recommend to a friend.

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This book is a historical writer’s dream: lively and detailed, utterly unlike anything else available. Would give six stars if I could.

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