Decline of American Whaling. 67 
uncertainty and anxiety. Almost coincident with this 
depression came the financial crisis of 1857 with the 
general depression of industries throughout the country. 
The whaling industry never fully recovered from the 
setback it received then. New conditions unfavorable to 
whaling interests soon arose, and within a few years the 
decline of the industry had begun, to continue almost 
without interruption down to the present day. 
Before entering into the detailed discussion of the 
phases and causes of the decline, a general view of its 
extent may be had from a table showing the size and 
tonnage of the fleet in a few representative years. The 
progress from year to year may be seen in the table of 
statistics for the whole fleet given in Table I of Appendix 
I, from which these figures are selected: 
DECLINE OF THE WHALING FLEET. 
Ships and 
Barks. Brigs. Schooners. Total. Tonnage. 
1846 680 34 22 736 233,262 
1861 459 14 41 514 158,745 
1869 223 25 88 330 74,512 
1873 153 12 38 203 47,996 
1890 65 6 26 97 22,718 
IQoI 27 ° 13 40 8,746 
1906 25 2 14 42 9,878 
The years here given may be regarded as milestones in 
the decline, since each marks an important downward 
step. Thus after 1869 the fleet never numbered over 
300 sail; after 1873 it never reached 200 again; since 
1890 it has been less than 100, and in the last five years 
it has been below fifty vessels. The same rule also holds 
for the figures of tonnage. 
First, to consider the extent of the decline more in detail. 
Between 1846 and 1850 there were nearly fifty different 
ports in southern New England and New York sending 
out whaling vessels. The fleet averaged over 600 sail 
each year, bringing in a product with an average annual 
