The Rise of American Whaling. 33 
space of two decades, into a rank second only to Nan- 
tucket. 
The actual condition of the whale fishery during these 
years of growth and expansion cannot be traced with 
any continuity from year to year, because of the absence 
of records. It is worth while to note, however, certain 
influences which were at work, affecting the fishery in 
general, or in particular localities. 
As early as 1741 the participation of England in the 
war of the Austrian Succession gave France and Spain 
the long desired opportunity to prey upon English com- 
merce, and the colonial interests came in for their pro- 
portion of loss. It was just at this time, too, that the 
practice of deep-sea whaling was becoming fairly well 
established. The presence of French and Spanish 
privateers hovering near the coast, however, hindered 
the development of this new phase of the industry, 
especially in the Davis Straits region. As Starbuck says,“ 
“the period from 1750 to 1784. was the most eventful 
era to the whale fishery that it ever passed through. 
For a large proportion of the time the business was 
carried on under imminent risk of capture, first by the 
Spanish and French and after by the English.’”’ The 
Davis Straits fishery was eventually quite abandoned, 
the vessels frequenting the grounds in the vicinity of the 
Western Islands were constantly liable to losses from 
capture, and most of the operations were confined to 
the Grand Banks, along the Gulf Stream and about the 
Bahamas.® 
But in spite of these unfavorable conditions the state 
of the fishery was such that Hutchison could say of this 
period,® “‘the increase in the consumption of oil 
in Europe has been no small encouragement to our whale 
fishery. The flourishing state of the island of Nantucket 
Starbuck, p. 36. 
® Starbuck, p. 56. 
® Hutchison: History of Mass., III, p. 400. 
