A comparative approach to historical whaling techniques: Transfer of knowledge in the 17th century from the Biscay to Brazil

The inhabitants of the coastal areas of Bay of Biscay were the first to hunt large whales in an organized manner and with industrial purposes. They established the characteristics of the industry for the following centuries both locally and through overseas expeditions. In Brazil, whaling was of significant importance between the 17th and the 19th centuries. The activity started in 1602 with a whaling concession granted to two Basques partners and expanded to dozen of ports, including Salvador and Rio de Janeiro. This expansion accompanied the market demands, namely for the whale oil that illuminated several regions of Brazil and Portugal and was later exported to the Portuguese Atlantic islands, France, England and Castile.
Here, we conducted a comparative analysis of the techniques used both in the place of origin of the Basque-style whaling and in Brazil. As expected, very similar if not identical features were found considering the 10 to 12 meters ‘baleeira’ boat, its symmetric shape and quadrangular sail; the appliances, namely the lances and the harpoon made of steel attached to a wooden stick, built in the same manner and size. Other characteristics of a well-developed activity in Brazil will be presented in the logic of expertise and techniques’ transfer promoted by the Portuguese and Biscayans. Within this broad spectrum discussion, we expect to rise some relevant questions concerning the circulation of knowledge about whales, and the ways of hunting and using them, in the first globalized age of information supported by the intense maritime market and utilization of the oceans’ resources.