USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Whale oil and baleen (sometimes called whalebone, although it’s not bone at all) were valuable commodities. Whale oil comes from the blubber of right and bowhead whales, and the head cavity of sperm whales. It was used primarily for oil lamps.

Detailed explanation-2: -Why do people hunt whales? Over a thousand whales are killed every year because some people want to make money from selling their meat and body parts. Their oil, blubber and cartilage are used in pharmaceuticals and health supplements. Whale meat is even used in pet food, or served to tourists as a ‘traditional dish’.

Detailed explanation-3: -Whale oil was obtained by boiling strips of blubber harvested from whales. The removal is known as flensing and the boiling process was called trying out. The boiling was carried out on land in the case of whales caught close to shore or beached.

Detailed explanation-4: -The whaling industry helped the fledgling colony of New South Wales survive, as the whaling ships brought much-needed food and supplies to the colonists from the 1790s. Whaling went on to become the colony’s first viable industry at the turn of the 19th century.