WHALESITE.ORG *

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* Summary of Contents.

The purpose of Whalesite.org is to offer an anthology of books, articles and images about 19th century sperm-whaling in the Pacific and the early history of places the whalers and whaleships visited — the Sandwich Islands, the Galapagos Islands, Pitcairn's Island and the Bonin Islands. The Plough Boy Journals of Lewis Monto (1806-1879), a Boston native who grew up on the island of Nantucket and made several voyages to the Pacific Ocean in the 1820's and 1830's, are the inspiration for these pages.

Anthology — Primarily an anthology of the literature of 19th century whaling with extracts and full-text transcriptions of books and articles. This section also includes books and articles on the wider subject of Pacific Ocean exploration in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Bonin Islands — An anthology of books and articles on the history and settlement of the Bonin Islands. These islands became a frequent place of "recruitment" for 19th century whaleships after a colony was established there from Honolulu in the early 1830's.
Fateful Voyage of
H.M.A.V Bounty.
— The lost pages from James Galloway's "Fateful Voyage" website as retrieved from the WayBack Web in 2021. Here will be found transcriptions of contemporary manuscript records relating to the Mutiny on the Bounty, including letters, documents and journals of Captain William Bligh, Midshipman Peter Heywood, Boatswain's Mate James Morrison, 1st Lieutenant Francis G. Bond, Lieutenant Nathaniel Portlock, 3rd Lieutenant George Tobin, and Midshipman Matthew Flinders.
Bounty Chronicles — A collection of Australian artist John Hagan's paintings about the mutiny on the Bounty and early life of the mutineers on Pitcairn's Island.
Capt. James Cook — Transcriptions of the three Pacific voyages of Captain James Cook including the plates and maps which accompanied the original works.
Galapagos Islands — An anthology of books and articles on the history of the Galapagos Islands from the 16th century through the end of the 19th century. Charles Island (Isla Santa Maria, Isla Floreana) was was frequented by whaleships in the 19th century where a colony was established there to supply provisions to them.
Human and Cartographic History of the Galápagos Islands — A collection of John Woram's "galapagos.to" pages of the Human and Cartographic History of the Galápagos Islands. The pages were retrieved from the WayBack Machine. They are presented with Mr. Worams permission and to acknowledge his more than 20 years of scholarship and effort in making his website a valued and trusted resource.
Ship Geo. Howland — Accounts of the mid-19th century capture of the whaleship George Howland at Charles Island in the Galapagos and its "rescue" by he Swedish frigate Eugenie. When rescued, the sole occupant of the ship was William B. Peacock, the ship's cooper and brother-in-law of Lewis Monto of the Plough Boy.
William H. Macy — The collected works of William H. Macy of Nantucket. Contains his many short stories published in popular magazines of the time which generally were set on whale ships in the north and south Pacific. Also includes his book-lenth works as well as many (generally humorous) poems published in the Nantucket Inquirer. Macy, a Civil War veteran, on returning to his island home served many years as an editor of the Inquirer and as Register of Deeds for the town. His writings at the end of his life were done while he was totally blind.
Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego — This collection of John Woram's "www.riverviewpress.com" pages for Patagonia & Tierra del Fuego was retrieved from the WayBack Machine. They are presented here with Mr. Worams permission and to acknowledge his many years of scholarship and effort in making his website a valued and trusted resource.
Pitcairn's Island — An anthology of books and articles on the history of Pitcairn's Island through the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Pitcairn Early History — The pages from James Galloway's "Pitcairn: Early History" as retrieved from the WayBack Machine in 2021.
Ploughboy JournalsTranscriptions of Lewis Monto's two whaling journals of 1828-1834 which were the inspiration for this website. Contains biographical information for Lewis Monto as well as images of his Seaman's Certificate, the Plough Boy's boat signals for communicating between boats and the ship, and his unique shore views of a many Pacific islands.
Sandwich Islands — An anthology of books and articles on the history of the Sandwich Islands from the time of Captain Cook's discovery of the islands to their rise to become the most important port for American and other whaling vessels in the Pacific in the 19th century.
Whaling — The ships, boats, equipment and terminology of 19th century sperm whaling in the Pacific. Includes diagrams of a whaleship's structure, sails and rigging. Thomas Lytle's "Whalecraft" pages on the tools and implements of whaling are noted above.
Whalecraft — The resurrected website of Thomas Lytle which illustrates and describes the tools and implements of whaling. These pages were retrieved from the WayBack Web in 2021.


Last updated by Tom Tyler, Denver, CO, USA, Feb 27, 2024