<h1>Benjamin Bans, an 18th-century North American whaler, recorded his experiences in his diary. </h1>
Whaling in the 17th century
In 1721, Banks was born in Cape Cod. On 18 March 1743, Bergs stated in his diary that he had received enough education to say goodbye to school. The young man's goal was to become a "whaler," which was very popular at the time.
Bans' ancestors may have also been involved in whaling, but early colonists didn't need to travel to the deep sea—the east coast of North America in the 17th century was full of cruising whales that people could easily approach by paddling boats. However, as whaling has increased, there are fewer and fewer whales in coastal areas, and people have to travel to deep-sea areas.
For this purpose, Banks first took some basic training, such as "how to drive a dinghy", which was very simple, so Bans quickly passed. On 9 May 1743, Bans boarded Captain Samuel Paddock's whaling ship and began his first whaling voyage.
When they arrived in the waters near the North Carolina colony, Banks saw a scene that shocked him: "There are as many whales around us as flying bees, and yet they are also as chaotic as bees." "What Lance saw was the famous sperm whale, the most popular cetacean at the time.
sperm whale
Sperm whales are the largest toothed whales in the world, with males growing more than 60 feet (about 18 meters) and weighing up to 50 tons. Moreover, sperm whales dive deeper than other cetaceans, typically reaching thousands of feet. Another case for whalers is that sperm whales can stay in the water for up to 1 hour, and their skin is very thick and difficult to puncture. Coupled with that large and dangerous tail, hunting sperm whales is difficult.
However, sperm whales have exceptionally valuable whale brain oil.
The sperm whale's huge head has a "brain oil vessel", a large, deep cavity filled with liquid, surrounded by fascia and a thick layer of muscle. Up to 3 tons of "whale brain oil" can be stored here – a translucent, rosy or slightly yellowed liquid that, when exposed to cold air, forms large, milky, waxy chunks.
Whale brain oil can be used as a high-quality lighting material, and people at that time generally believed that it could treat many diseases, but also can be used to make cream or lotion applied externally, and later people learned to use it to make candles, and whale brain oil became more precious. In addition, the sperm whale's blubber is not as thick as that of right whales, but the refined whale oil burns cleaner, so the price is also very high. Coupled with the fact that there may be "ambergris" in the body of a sperm whale, whaling is so interested in it.
<h1>However, hunting sperm whales is fraught with danger. </h1>
Whalers
Right whales and humpback whales have jet holes overhead, often spewing high columns of water into the air, making them easy to spot. But the sperm whale's vents are on the left side of the head, so the jet of water is closer to the surface of the sea, and it is not easy for the lookout to find.
Plus, sperm whales are faster and more agile. Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, said: "Sperm whales are flexible and fierce animals that require whalings to have great skill and great courage." "Like other cetaceans, whalers must approach quickly in a dinghy and then throw a whaling fork, while injured sperm whales will do their best to resist."
The huge head of the sperm whale will smash the dinghy to pieces, and the huge tail can easily shoot the whaler to death. In addition, after the sperm whale is attacked, it is likely to turn its back down, raise its teeth-filled chin high, and accurately smash into the whaler's dinghy. Experienced whalers, when they see sperm whales lifted up, will jump into the sea from the dinghy to escape.
Regarding the dangers that may be encountered in the hunting of sperm whales, Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" has a very detailed description, I believe many people know.
In any case, North American whalers in the 18th century had already targeted sperm whales.
Whale brain oil and candles made of it
Benjamin Bans' first whaling trip didn't go well. In addition to being another contender, hunting sperm whale luck is also important. Under normal circumstances, when the whaling fork is pierced into the whale, the injured sperm whale will not only resist, but also drag the dinghy through the rope on the whaling fork to walk a long distance, and can not find the opportunity to kill it completely, so it can only let it escape.
Bans recorded in his diary that although there were as many sperm whales around them as "flying bees", they reached the whaling site on May 24 and returned on June 2, using a whaling fork to insert at least 9 sperm whales, but only killed 4 of them.
That's not good news for a whaling ship. So they returned to the port to replenish their supplies and set off again on June 14. As mentioned above, sperm whales are not so easy to deal with, so when bad luck comes, whalers may spend half a day tracking a sperm whale, but they can't find the opportunity to throw a whaling fork. Whaling boats that do not have any harvest for days or even weeks in a row are also common.
In 1743, Bans took part in two voyages, killing 6 sperm whales and producing 73 barrels of whale oil. Lance can probably make £15 to £25, which is already a lot.
<h1>Some people may ask: how to refine whale oil to kill sperm whales in the vast sea? </h1>
A whaling vessel in the distance is cutting blubber
Indeed, this is a big problem, after all, it is impossible to drag every sperm whale back to the port. Therefore, at that time, there were two ways to refine whale oil on the long voyage of whaling ships: cutting whale fat on the spot and bringing it back to the port for refining, or directly refining it on the whaling ship.
The slain sperm whales are dragged to the side of the whaling ship, and the crew stands directly on the floating whale carcass, cuts the blubber with a sharp knife, cuts it into pieces, and loads it directly into the barrel.
If you are lucky enough to return with a full load soon, this way is the most convenient. However, once it is impossible to return for a long time, the blubber in the barrel is likely to deteriorate and stink – even if it is not thrown away, the refined whale oil will not sell for a good price.
Extracted whale oil
So, some whaling ships began to carry stoves, hang a cauldron directly on it, and refine oil at sea. Although the efficiency is not high, the refined whale oil can be directly loaded into the barrel and can be stored for a longer time, which is still very cost-effective.
Around 1750, the whaling ship had a new modification.
With a small stove that moves, it is too inefficient. So some whaling ships began to build a large stove with bricks in the middle of the main deck, preparing several large pots to start at the same time. The reason why I didn't do this before was because many crew members were not at ease, after all, the big stove that kept burning, once an accident occurred, it was likely to ignite the entire ship, and there was no place to escape on the vast sea.
However, with huge benefits at hand, what about taking a little "small risk"? Just be careful. Thus, a whaling vessel becomes a factory: whaling, cutting, refining, storing, can be done more efficiently, and naturally can make more money.
<h1>Why is whale oil so profitable? </h1>
London before the First Industrial Revolution
According to the data, the price of whale oil per ton in 1730 was 7 pounds, and by 1748 it had risen to 14 pounds. North American whalers realized that their biggest patron was the British, and the demand for whale oil in Britain's major cities rose steadily, and prices naturally rose.
By the early 18th century, London had become one of the most prosperous cities in the world at the time. There are not only a large number of rich people gathered here, but also countless low-income people living in slums. At night, the whole of London is plunged into darkness, and although there are months of night every year when people light fuel lamps on the main street, they are extinguished before midnight, and most of the nights in London are dark and dangerous.
Whale brain oil candle
At that time, there were many criminals who were moving around at night, and those who had to go out because of an emergency were very likely to be attacked in the dark, which caused a lot of headaches for the London government.
In 1736, London implemented a new initiative to combat nocturnal crime. The municipality imposed a new tax specifically for the installation and lighting of fuel lamps throughout the city. Within a few years, 15,000 oil lamps had been installed on the streets of London, burning from night to dawn every day, and were maintained by a dedicated person.
The effectiveness of the initiative in combating crime is not to be discussed, but the use of lamp oil has risen sharply. As a result, the British desperately needed more whale oil from the North American colonies.
<h1>Whalers like Benjamin Banks don't take long to make a fortune. </h1>
Whaling scene
In 1744, when Banks went out to sea again to hunt whales, he had already owned his own dhow and became the captain. However, this year was not very smooth, first of all, the sailboat had a water leakage problem, and the repair of the ship delayed a lot of time. It was also the year that the War between Britain and France over the North American colonies began, which meant that Bans's whaling ships were likely to be the target of French cruisers and privateers.
According to Banks, on April 28 of that year, the whaling ship spotted two sperm whales and began tracking them. But the crew soon discovered that another dhow was speeding toward them, and everyone judged that it should be a French privateer.
So Bans asked the crew to sail as fast as he could, and he wrote: "The downwind chased us for 4 hours, and there were several whaling dinghies behind our ship... The ship was less than a mile away from us..." Fortunately, the other side never chased after the boss, and finally gave up when night fell.
But no amount of danger could stop Bance from whaling, and he harvested a total of 48.5 barrels of whale oil that year, not much, but better than nothing.
By the 1760s, Banks had become a highly successful merchant, owning several whaling ships, hiring crews to go out to sea each year to hunt whales, and then selling whale oil to middlemen—sometimes they would ship whale oil directly to England to sell, making more money.
Bens died in 1769 at the age of 48. His descendants did not have to worry about their livelihood at this time, because Bans left a huge inheritance, enough for them to live a very good life. It can be seen that the North American whalers of the 18th century, relying on sperm whales, really made a lot of money.