Immigration Pier - New Bedford. Photo: Nelson F. Wood / courtesy New Bedford Whaling Museum

Faces of Whaling

This oral history project documents the life experiences of former whalemen of New Bedford and their descendants. Whaling brought people from the island nations of Cape Verde, the Azores, and the West Indies to New Bedford, once the whaling capital of the world. After the last whaling ship sailed in 1924, many settled and raised families there. Produced by the New Bedford Whaling Museum in collaboration with several other local organizations, the project includes a videotaped interview with Antonio Lopes, the only living person known to have whaled out of New Bedford. A transcript of a separate audio-taped interview, replete with Mr. Lopes' detailed and colorful recollections, is also included, along with a photographic portrait of the 102-year-old Lopes and ten archival photographs from the whaling era The full scope of the research project, which encompassed 12 additional families of whalemen, is documented in a 19-page report.

Originally submitted by: John F. Kerry, Senator.

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