252: Thar She Blows Again: The History of Whales and America (Part 2)

BackStory

History, Education

4.7 • 2.9K Ratings

🗓️ 2 August 2019

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Whale deaths are reaching record numbers in 2019. According to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Association, gray whale deaths are “notably greater than the average” and have led the NOAA to declare the occurrence an Unusual Mortality Event (UME). In addition, NOAA considers the death rates of North Atlantic right whales an urgent conservation crisis leading the U.S. to begin working with Canada this month to help protect the species.

This week, BackStory revisits our two episodes on the history of whales and America. We’re re-releasing part one, “Thar She Blows” on July 31. In this episode, Brian, Nathan and Joanne explore how Native American whalers faced stereotypes within the industry, how whaling went from boom to bust, and learn how a real white whale named Mocha Dick became the inspiration for Herman Melville’s novel.

In part two, “Thar She Blows Again” (releasing on Aug. 2), Ed joins the rest of the team to uncover the story of Cabin Boys who were women in disguise, find out why a traveling whale was turned away from a Midwestern Town, and learn all about the Black whaler and entrepreneur who became one of the wealthiest men in America.

Images: Ep 1 - Jonathan Fisher woodcut, published in the 1833 book "Scripture Animals," courtesy of the Jonathan Fisher Memorial, Blue Hill, Maine.

Ep 2 - "Whalers Heading Towards A Whale" Source: The New York Public Library Digital Collections

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Major funding for Backstory is provided by an anonymous donor, the National
0:04.1	Amendment for the Humanities, and the Robert and Joseph Cornell Memorial Foundation.
0:08.0	From Virginia Humanities, this is Backstory.
0:14.8	Welcome to Backstory, the show that explains the history behind today's headlines.
0:24.9	I'm Brian Ballot. I'm Nathan Connolly.
0:27.4	I'm Joanne Freeman.
0:28.4	And I'm Ed Ayers. If you're new to the podcast, we're all historians, and each week we
0:33.4	explore the history of one topic that's been in the news.
0:36.6	Now, picture a wailing ship out at sea in the middle of the 19th century during the height
0:42.2	of the wailing industry.
0:45.5	As the crew works together, pulling howards to set sales or pumping the lever windlass
0:50.0	to raise anchor, they sing a type of work song called a sea shanty.
0:54.9	Oh, Sally Brown, she's a bright molotter.
1:00.2	Whaaay, roll and go, a pretty girl, but I can't get her.
1:09.5	Spend my money on Sally Brown.
1:14.2	Oh, Sally lives in Holger Maker.
1:19.0	Whaaay, roll and go.
1:23.5	She drinks rum and chose tobacco.
1:28.2	Spend my money on Sally Brown.
1:33.2	The voice you just heard is scholar Gibb Shreffler.
1:37.2	He says sea shanties like Sally Brown were more than just catchy sailor songs.
1:42.0	They were actually used to coordinate maritime labor tasks on merchant ships and wailing
	...

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