Whaling. A word that has become synonymous with the destruction of the environment driven by greed, driven by lack of respect for other fellow creatures of this world, driven by wasteful interests in the goods animals directly or indirectly produce. But as many authors have shown, the interest in whale products has waned and there are only but a few whaling nations left that either hunt whales for their meat and oil and/or as part of scientific programmes. In order to avoid overhunting of the past, in 1946 the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was established by a few whaling nations to oversee the implementation of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW). Ever since the foundation of the IWC and the moratorium on commercial whaling it established in 1985/86, the organisation has been in a deadlock in which pro- and anti-whaling nations do not find a way to overcome their differences (see for example Fitzmaurice & Tamada, Reference Fitzmaurice and Tamada2016).
When looking into the history of whaling one quickly finds reference to the main actors in the whaling business: the Americans and their infamous city of Nantucket; Basques who were the first to engage in Arctic whaling; or the English that charted the seas while engaging in their bloody business. But behold! It is easy to point fingers. And even easier to point fingers at people long gone. And particularly easy to point fingers when contexts are oversimplified. And here we enter the content of the fascinating book by Chesley Sanger with the simple and content-encompassing title Scottish Arctic whaling. Leaving aside any moral opposition to whaling the reader of this book might have, from the very beginning of this detailed study of Scottish engagement in the whale hunt of the Arctic it becomes clear what important contribution whaling has had in fostering globalisation and competitive trade particularly between European nations ‘in a time of almost continuous conflict’ (p. 35) as a response to Arctic interests – an issue which, in Arctic contexts, is little explored (see for example Heininen & Southcott, Reference Heininen and Southcott2010). At the same time it becomes unmistakably clear how the Arctic marine environment and the establishment of an industry go hand in hand with one another. Unsurprisingly, in the 18th century it was, to a large extent, (un-) favourable environmental conditions as well as times of war that impacted the establishment of an English and Scottish whaling industry. With regard to the environment, especially in light of current oil prospecting in the Arctic, this should be borne in mind and Sanger's treatise is a stark reminder that industries of the south are merely guests in the high north, albeit very powerful ones.
This notwithstanding, Sanger shows in great detail and supported by a great number of graphs and tables how the Scottish whaling industry in the 18th century was subject to ‘complex forces often working towards both expansion and reduction in the Scottish trade’ (p. 58) but that it ‘displayed remarkable consistency in the inter-war period’ (p. 61). Unfortunately, Sanger does not engage further in discussing the fact that during times of war whaling endeavours were weakened inter alia by the desertion of the ships by their crews due to forced enlisting to the navy (see for instance p. 67). To be fair, however, it is doubtful that much information on these men exists in the first place. This would, in any case, be of tremendous interest from a socio-legal perspective. In general, the book does not engage in a more detailed discussion of the local economies, meaning the economies in specific harbour towns dependent on whaling, but rather provides a very detailed overview of the dynamics that drove or hindered the whaling economy in Scotland, closely paralleled by the whaling economy in England. Only very marginally socio-legal issues are touched upon and for this reviewer more details on the on-the-ground impacts of Scottish Arctic whaling would have greatly benefitted the book. This is particularly the case since the complexity of the interplay between Arctic whaling and the local economy is highlighted by the author who notes that ‘the whale fishery permeated all sectors of local economies and contributed to the growth and diversification of the economic base of each whaling town’ (p. 49). Once again, however, the question remains whether much information exists that allows for an analysis of that kind.
This being said, the book is in itself impressive and provides a long overdue addition to the history of whaling in the North Atlantic and in the Arctic. Scottish Arctic whaling therefore adds wonderfully to the better understanding of the global interest in whales as a resource and the dynamics that drove the establishment of modern economies in (sub-)Arctic regions. Read in conjunction with, for example, Dickinson & Sanger's treatise on Twentieth-century shore-station whaling in Newfoundland and Labrador (Dickinson & Sanger, Reference Dickinson and Sanger2005) or Ryan's very detailed history of Newfoundland sealing (Ryan, Reference Ryan1994) a picture of the maritime and resource-based economies emerges that allows for the better analyses of contemporary issues of Arctic scholarship. This is especially relevant since the author shows how the whaling industry in Davis Strait had transferred to a sealing industry, an economic branch still very much disputed to this day (see Sellheim, Reference Sellheim2016).
I can therefore conclude with a strong recommendation of this book for audiences interested in the history of whaling in general and particularly in the Arctic. Also scholars of Newfoundland and North Atlantic histories will find this book, which also contains several photographs, truly enriching .
