Whale Fishery of New England: An Account, with Illustrations and Some Interesting and Amusing Anecdotes, of the Rise and Fall of an Industry Which Has Made New England Famous Throughout the World

The history of American whaling really begins with the settlement of the New England Colonies. When the Mayflower anchored inside of Cape Cod, the Pilgrims saw whales playing about the ship, and this was their chief reason for settling there. It afterwards proved that the products of the whale formed an important source of income to the settlers on Massachusetts Bay. The subject of drift, or dead whales which were washed ashore, first attracted the colonists, and there are numerous references to them on record. It was the invariable rule for the government to get one-third, the town one-third, and the owner one-third, and in 1662 it was voted that a portion of every whale should be given to the church. The whale fishery increased steadily, so that in 1664 Secretary Randolph could truthfully write to England, The new Plymouth colony made great profit by whale killing.