230 A HISTORY OF THE WHALE FISHERIES 



means of subsistence. The history of whaling 

 during the War of Independence is therefore an 

 account of the struggle of the Nantucket men against 

 adverse circumstances. Early in the war the British 

 vessels made several forays along the New England 

 coast, capturing and burning the whale ships, and 

 destroying property on shore at Nantucket, Martha's 

 Vineyard, and Dartmouth. 



The privations at Nantucket were so excessive 

 that in 1781 the British Admiral granted the islanders 

 permission to etnploy twenty-four vessels unmolested 

 by the British cruisers. 



In 1783 the Continental Congress granted permits 

 for thirty-five vessels to engage in whaling, but very 

 soon after the treaty of peace was signed. 



The end of the war found the whaling industry 

 practically extinct. 



Except at Nantucket the whalers were ruined, and 

 even there not much had been saved. When war 

 broke out one hundred and fifty vessels were fishing 

 i;om Nantucket. In 1784 only two or three odd 

 >hips remained; one hundred and thirty-four had 

 been captured or destroyed by the English and 

 fifteen lost by shipwreck. 



The recovery of the American whalers for the 

 first two decades after the signing of peace was 

 slow. The. whales were less shy and more easily 

 Billed, and whale products fetched good prices for 



few years after the war. The boom was short- 

 lived, and prices dropped considerably. The 

 British market was to all intents and purposes closed 



