Question

Explain how the whaling industry affected African Americans.

Answer 1

A large proportion of the whale boats were crewed by African Americans. Some ships had an all black crew. The whaling industry also provided more opportunities to African Americans as a career than most other professions.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Answer:

Explanation:

History notes records whaling industry activities as far back as 11th century initiated by the Basques and were later followed by the Dutch, British and Americans.  

However, in America, the native Indians  were also known to have been the first to venture into the industry.  Whaling which was considered a new haven for the jobless and unfranchised, was responsible for the supply of the escalating demand for oil in urban and industrialized America.

At the onset of the 17th century, the exponential demand for this product opened more job vacancies for Indians and free Blacks areas such as Long Island, Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha´s Vineyard. This period coincided with the arrival of the Quakers abolitionist movement in Salem and around 1659, their activities Nantucket and  New Bedford Massachusetts,  attracted fleeing slaves from the South and provided job opportunities in whaling ships even as ship captains. It has been said that the first anti-slavery movements started in a whaling town.

Absalom Boston, born in Nantucket Massachusetts an African-American is known to have owned  and crewed an all-black  whaling ship which returned six months later with 70 barrels of whale oil with no lives lost.