Asia and Les Baleiniers: A History of Jeremiah Winslow and French Efforts to Encourage a Whaling Industry out of Le Havre in the Early 19th Century

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "From Whalers to World War II: Guam Underwater Archaeology", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

In 2022, a team of archaeologists investigated a late 18th- century/early 19th-century wreck site located in Apra Harbor, Guam. The wreck is thought to represent those of the remains of the whaleship Asia, a French whaler that wrecked off the coast of Guam in 1856 and became famous as the backdrop of Dr. Felix Maynard and Alexandre Dumas’ book Les Baleiniers (The Whalers). Asia was registered in 1829 by Jeremiah Winslow, an American who began whaling out of Le Havre, France in 1817. Encouraged by the French government, Winslow developed a prosperous whaling business, creating the infrastructure for the subsequent growth of French whaling companies. This talk explores the historical context of Asia, considering the French government’s 19th century efforts to reignite the whaling industry in France, Jeremiah Winslow’s business and influence in Le Havre, and Asia’s role in this endeavour prior to its wrecking.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2024   •
• From Whalers to World War II: Guam Underwater Archaeology

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow