Whaling Captains of Color: America's First Meritocracy

摘要

Between the 18th and 20th centuries, the American whaling industry was a place of incredibly dangerous work, and an occupation that required increasingly prolonged stretches of isolation from family and home community. Those who worked the floating blubber-rendering plants found themselves enclosed in a cramped world of violence, oily blood, and continual discomfort, the main enticement into which was the chance of a high payout at the journey's end. This promise of great profit rarely proved to be true for most men involved in the industry, and thus for many a single voyage was more than enough for them to decide to never go a-whaling again. For those who did opt to make whaling a true career, such a choice was often driven by either a sense of familial duty or heritage, or the knowledge that the industry offered them the greatest opportunities that they were likely to find.