Revered in Ancient Cultures, Whales Were Hunted Worldwide by Man’s Desire for Dominion Over Nature

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Revered in Ancient Cultures, Whales Were Hunted Worldwide by Man’s Desire for Dominion Over Nature

AOC continues to learn more about the history and evolution of whales, inspired by supermodel Vittoria Ceretti’s revelation in the April 2025 issue of Vogue France, that she was a whale in another life.

In this article, Anne learns about the early transition and evolution of an ancestral group called the cetaceans dating back 50 million years ago into modern world mammals. We also explore the relationship that indigenous peoples had with whales worldwide.

In 19th century Britain, cultural attitudes towards whaling were shaped by a combination of economic necessity, imperial ambition, and a burgeoning environmental awareness that was only beginning to emerge. It lacked a storied romanticism about the heroic whaler himself — a concept fundamental to the American story.

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Black Enterprise Was a Key Part of New England's Whaling Industry, Including As Ship Owners

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Black Enterprise Was a Key Part of New England's Whaling Industry, Including As Ship Owners

Black Enterprise Was a Key Part of New England's Whaling Industry, Including As Ship Owners

At its peak, in the 1850s, the American whaling industry alone employed 50,000 to 70,000 workers who worked on an estimated 700 to 800 ships.

In the decades before cheap oil helped many industries truly take off, whaling played an important, but often overlooked, role in laying the groundwork for the antislavery movement.

Black sailors made up perhaps 20% to 30% of whaling crews. Of these sailors, some were enslaved and used their hard-won earnings to buy their freedom. Some of these sailors went on to finance abolitionist efforts. Others built houses of worship.

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