Rites and Passages: The Experience of American Whaling, 1830–1870

by Margaret S. Creighton

Traditional accounts of whaling celebrate exotic locales and dangerous exploits but shed little light on the lives of the men who went to sea. Rites and Passages places sailors at the center of a social history of whaling and explores the ways in which the history of the sea and the history of the shore have intersected. Drawing on the evidence of ship logs and sailors' letters and journals, Margaret S. Creighton examines American whalemen during the industry's peak--the mid-nineteenth century--and argues that whaling life and culture were shaped by both the American mainland and by the exigencies of ocean life. Unlike other accounts of seafaring, this work brings gender into the maritime equation, not only with a discussion of the ways that women figured in this male-dominated world, but also with an examination of the ways that seafaring served as a rite of passage into manhood. Professor of History at Bates College, Margaret Creighton is the author of Dogwatch and Liberty Seafaring Life in the 19th Century and co-editor of Iron Men and Wooden Gender and Maritime History. She has been guest curator at The Peabody Museum of Salem and the U.S.S. Constitution Museum of Boston.

Genres: History

250 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Sarah Jacobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most thorough and interesting book I've read about the history of whaling and what it meant to the people doing it. Plenty of first-hand accounts and journals, ship's logs, etc. referenced.

[Caroline Leckie · Rating 5 out of 5]

read for school but great for anyone who likes maritime history Very interesting and readable

[Fraser Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating account of social lives of sailors during great age of whaling