Whale Products nm Commerce. 105 
the French markets to American whale products, while 
at the same time European whale products were ex- 
cluded. The first few shipments to France met with a 
profitable sale and the prospects seemed good. But 
the troubles between France and England, and the out- 
break of the French Revolution, soon annulled all the 
expected advantages of the agreement of 1789. 
From that time until the close of the war of 1812 every 
phase of the whale fishery was marked by ups and downs, 
such as are found at no other time. In 1798 the pros- 
pects of hostilities between the United States and France 
were reflected in the preying of French privateers on 
American commerce. Whaling interests suffered with 
the rest. The price of provisions was high; rates of 
insurance increased; at one time rates as high as twenty 
per cent were charged for marine insurance when the 
underwriters would assume risks at all;?? and there were 
many times when the ship owners must have lost money, 
under the current prices, even if their ships had brought 
in full cargoes.7 During the early years of the new 
century there was added both the trouble with the 
Spanish in South America, just when the newly opened 
Pacific fishery was becoming important, and the difficul- 
ties with Breat Britain in harassing our commerce. The 
embargo of 1807 kept down the prices of oil and candles 
by stopping their exportation. And finally the outbreak 
of actual hostilities in 1812, with the accompanying re- 
strictions on trade in general, once more put an effective 
end to any extensive trade movements in whale products. 
Yet during these same years there were other influences 
which were tending steadily to build up trade in whale 
oils and bone. The years of depression led many owners 
to sell their vessels or to transfer them to other branches 
of business. The quantities of oil imported were thereby 
reduced even below the market demand and the prices 
® Macy, p. 163. 
71 Macy, p. 150. 
