Editing New Bedford, Massachusetts (section)

=== Whaling City ===
Nantucket had been the dominant whaling port, though the industry was controlled by a cartel of merchants in Boston, Newport, and Providence. In the 1760s, Nantucket's most prominent whaling families moved to New Bedford, refining their own oil and making their own premium candles.

The [[American Revolutionary War]] completely paralyzed the whaling industry. [[List of British units in the American Revolutionary War|British forces]] blockaded American ports and captured or destroyed American commercial ships; they even [[Grey's raid|marched down King's Street]] in New Bedford (defiantly renamed Union Street after the Revolution) and set businesses on fire.
[[File:Lowering Boats 01.jpg|thumb|''Lowering Boats'' by [[Clifford Warren Ashley]], held at the [[New Bedford Whaling Museum]].]]
[[Nantucket during the American Revolutionary War era|Nantucket]] was even more exposed, and the physical destruction, frozen economy, and import taxes imposed after the war obliterated previous fortunes. New Bedford also had a deeper harbor and was located on the mainland. As a result, New Bedford supplanted Nantucket as the nation's preeminent [[whaling]] port, and so began the Golden Age of Whaling. [[Nantucket during the American Revolutionary War era|William Rotch]] (owner of the ''Dartmouth'' of the [[Boston Tea Party]]) and Samuel Rodman were important Quaker businessmen in the whaling industry.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Crabtree|first=Sarah|title=Before the Rockefellers, there were the Rotches, Part 1 of 13|url=https://nha.org/research/nantucket-history/history-topics/before-the-rockefellers-there-were-the-rotches/|access-date=August 23, 2021|website=Nantucket Historical Association|language=en-US|archive-date=August 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210823160316/https://nha.org/research/nantucket-history/history-topics/before-the-rockefellers-there-were-the-rotches/|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:New Bedford, Massachusetts-old harbor.jpeg|thumb|The New Bedford waterfront in 1867.]]

After the [[War of 1812]]'s embargo was lifted, New Bedford started amassing a number of colossal, sturdy, square-rigged whaling ships, many of them built at the shipyard of [[Mattapoisett, Massachusetts|Mattapoisett]]. The invention of on-board [[trywork]]s, a system of massive iron pots over a brick furnace, allowed the whalers to render high quality oil from the blubber.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/nebe/learn/historyculture/whalehunt.htm|title=Whale Hunt - New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)|last1=Bedford|first1=Mailing Address: 33 William Street New|last2=Us|first2=MA 02740 Phone: 508-996-4095 Contact|website=www.nps.gov|language=en|access-date=February 3, 2020|archive-date=February 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203165258/https://www.nps.gov/nebe/learn/historyculture/whalehunt.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> This allowed the whaling ships to go out to sea for as long as four years, processing their catch while at sea.<ref name=":0" /> Ships from New Bedford came back to port with [[Whale oil|barrels of oil]], [[spermaceti]], and occasionally [[ambergris]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/nebe/learn/historyculture/whaleproducts.htm|title=Whale Products {{!}} Whaling - New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)|last1=Bedford|first1=Mailing Address: 33 William Street New|last2=Us|first2=MA 02740 Phone: 508-996-4095 Contact|website=www.nps.gov|language=en|access-date=February 3, 2020|archive-date=February 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203165259/https://www.nps.gov/nebe/learn/historyculture/whaleproducts.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:New_Bedford_station_postcard_(2).jpg|thumb|[[New Bedford station|Old Colony Railroad Station]] in New Bedford, as it looked {{circa|1907}}–1915. As early as [[New Bedford and Taunton Railroad|1840]], New Bedford was integrated into the northeastern economy by rail.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://oldrailhistory.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=238&Itemid=273|title=oldrailhistory.com|website=oldrailhistory.com|access-date=February 17, 2020|archive-date=May 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200529143608/http://oldrailhistory.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=238&Itemid=273|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
Whaling dominated New Bedford's economy for much of the century, and many families of the city were involved with it as crew and officers of ships. The Quakers remained prominent and influential in New Bedford throughout the whaling era. They brought religious values into their business models, promoting stability as well as prosperity, investing in infrastructure projects such as rail, and employing [[Equal opportunity|without discrimination]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.whalingmuseum.org/learn/research-topics/cultural-communities|title=Cultural Communities and Identities|website=New Bedford Whaling Museum|language=en|access-date=February 3, 2020|archive-date=February 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203163809/https://www.whalingmuseum.org/learn/research-topics/cultural-communities|url-status=dead}}</ref> They established solid social and economic relationships with [[Boston]], [[New York City|New York]], and [[Philadelphia]], integrating New Bedford into the [[Northeast megalopolis|urban northeastern economy]].

Ten thousand men worked in the whaling industry. During this period, New Bedford's population increased from approximately 4,000 in 1820 to about 24,000 in 1860.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=DeWitt|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3-Ml4U5EkxsC&pg=PA66|title=Early Globalization and the Economic Development of the United States and Brazil|date=2002|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-275-97199-1|language=en|access-date=June 26, 2020|archive-date=February 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230215201352/https://books.google.com/books?id=3-Ml4U5EkxsC&pg=PA66|url-status=live}}</ref> At the height of the whaling industry in 1857, the harbor hosted 329 vessels worth over $12&nbsp;million, and New Bedford became the [[Per capita income|richest city per capita]] in North America.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20180719-the-city-that-lit-the-world|title=The city that lit the world|last=MacEacheran|first=Mike|website=www.bbc.com|date=July 20, 2018 |language=en|access-date=February 3, 2020|archive-date=February 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221013926/http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20180719-the-city-that-lit-the-world|url-status=live}}</ref>

On March 18, 1847, the town of New Bedford officially became a city; Abraham Hathaway Howland was elected its first mayor.