This blogpost is a brief summary of an article of Andrew Green “Wales and whales”.1
In 2016, unusual sightings of long-finned pilot whales off the Welsh coast caught the attention of locals and cetologists. These majestic creatures, rarely venturing from the deep sea, were likely following squid and small fish to shallower waters. Today, whales are cherished and protected, with organizations like the Sea Watch Foundation working to capture these moments and conserve them. But history tells a different story.
In the early 19th century, Milford Haven in Wales was briefly transformed into a whaling port, a surprising fact given the usual association of whaling with Nantucket or North Sea towns like Whitby and Hull. This transformation was led by Charles Greville, who invited Quaker whalers from Nantucket and New Bedford to settle in Milford. These families, including the Starbucks and Rotches, fled the American War of Independence and sought new opportunities in Europe. The British government, eager to reduce dependency on American whale oil, offered incentives for these settlers to invest in Wales.
Milford Haven quickly became a bustling town, with new homes, docks, and even a Quaker meeting house that still stands today. Whalers, such as Samuel Starbuck and Timothy Folger, established a community, and street names like Dartmouth Street and Nantucket Avenue still echo their influence. Despite its brief success, by 1814, the whaling era in Milford came to an end as the economic tide shifted and key figures like Ben Rotch moved on. The town then turned towards a future built on fishing rather than hunting whales.
The legacy of the Quaker whalers remains—a tapestry at the meeting house and the simple, timeless graves of the Starbuck family offer a glimpse into this unique chapter of Welsh maritime history.
- Green, Andrew (2016): Wales and Whales, in: gwallter, https://gwallter.com/books/wales-and-whales.html, [Last Access: 12.11.2024]. [↩]
OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Haureh Hussein (November 18, 2024). From Pilot Whales to Whalers: The Forgotten Story of Milford Haven. Transoceanic Voyages. Retrieved December 14, 2024 from https://doi.org/10.58079/12p96
