Whaling and sealing
In the 19th century one
of the world's most important
and richest industries was
whaling. Whaling provided
people all over the world
with products that were
in use every day at that
time. |
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Whale
blubber:
was made into oil, which
was used in lamps before
people had access to gas
light or electricity.
Whale
bone: was used
to make corsets
and hoops for the dresses
which were worn by western
women.
Spermaceti:
was used to make candles.
Ambergris:
from whale intestines was
used to make high quality
perfumes. |
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| Whales were hunted in the Atlantic
Ocean but whaling captains eventually
realised they could find large numbers
of whales in the breeding grounds of
the southern seas. Whalers continued
to explore further and further south
towards the Antarctic to find more whales
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Exploring
Early exploration wasn't
in Antarctica involved limited
interaction with the continent
and its surrounding oceans.
It wasn't until 1899 that
the first buildings were
constructed on the continent,
and Antarctica wasn’t exposed
to an introduced species
until the British Antarctic
Expedition of 1898-1900
took huskies
there. |
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| Nineteenth
century exploration involved
scientists and navigators
making maps and charts,
taking magnetometric
observations, tidal
observations and astronomical
observations. The geologists
gathered samples of rock
while the naturalists
gathered specimens for analysis
to be taken back home with
them. They caught or shot
penguins, sea birds, seals,
and fish and at times also
used these animals for food.
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| Others
on board were responsible
for sketching and sometimes
painting scenes and images
of the birds, mammals
and fish that were captured.
These sketches were often
taken back to their homelands
to be completed. |
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| As for waste pollution
in Antarctica, that would have begun
with the earliest exploration in the
region as all of the ships that entered
Antarctic waters during the 19th century
would have continued the practice of
waste disposal that had been used for
centuries - throwing it over board.
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| Bibliography
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