Midmorning by the Ice 169 



collected it by a primitive fractionation of the refuse and washings 

 from the flensing slipways. Finally, the Hollanders seem somehow 

 to have always, throughout history, obtained a better price for their 

 baleen than anybody else, but perhaps this was due as much to busi- 

 ness acumen as to careful trade practices. 



After the discovery of the arctic right whale by the Hollanders, 

 as depicted in our story, a great change took place in the whole in- 

 dustry, primarily because the fleet moved farther and farther north 

 and west in pursuit of the quarry. Nevertheless, other factors played 

 an important part in the subsequent history of whaling as a whole. 

 The first change came in 1634 when the French challenged the Hol- 

 landers over Spitsbergen and forbade French Basques to serve on 

 their ships. The Hollanders immediately employed Frisians from 

 the west German islands, who seem to have been just as competent. 

 Their industry, however, continued to grow lustily until 1 640 when 

 the Hanseatic Leas^ue entered the trade and founded a "whale 

 house" in Hamburg. From then on the Germans were a constant 

 source of competition and petty annoyance, culminating in 1709 

 when the Hollanders combined with the British and French in an 

 endeavor to drive the Hanseatic League and its great commercial 

 houses out of the trade. However, we still find 80 German whalers 

 in Greenland waters twelve years later, competing with 250 Hol- 

 landers and 20 Basques. 



Dutch whaling passed through sundry other vicissitudes during 

 the important period of its dominance from 1626 to 1726. First, in 

 1642 the great Noordsche Company lost its monopoly over the 

 trade, but this only stimulated increased private enterprise and in 

 1645 it became free for all, resulting in such a rapid expansion that 

 prices fell drastically and the products began to be marketed abroad 

 to avoid a two per cent landing tax in the Netherlands. This twist 

 was stopped by law in 1652 on the outbreak of the first Dutch-British 

 war, which lasted for three years. Then in 1658 the Hollanders 

 alUed themselves with the Danes against Sweden, and the Dutch 

 whalers started registering with and working for foreigners to avoid 

 bellicose complications, but this too was forbidden in 1661. The sec- 

 ond Dutch-British war of 1 665-1 667 crippled the whole industry, 

 and after its termination even rapeseed oil, in place of whale oil, 

 had to be bought from the British. However, the clever move of 



