PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire County Historical Society will host a virtual lecture on the history of whaling captains of color with author, Skip Finley. 

 

In his award-winning book "Whaling Captains of Color, America's First Meritocracy," Finley covers such topics as Ambergris and rats, while intertwining the individual stories of more than fifty whaling masters of color, their adventures, successes, and struggles. 

 

The virtual lecture will be held Thursday, November 9 at 5:30 pm.  Use the BOOK NOW button at berkshirehistory.org to reserve tickets; $10 BCHS members, $15 non-members. The zoom link will be provided once tickets are booked. 

 

This event is sponsored by Greylock Federal Credit Union and the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

 

According to a press release, Whaling was the first American industry to exhibit any diversity, and the proportion of men of color was high. A man got to be captain not because he was white or well connected, but because he knew how to kill a whale. Along the way he would also learn navigation and how to read and write. Whaling presented an alternative to mainland life. Working with archival records at whaling museums, in libraries, from private archives and studying hundreds of books and thesis, Finley chronicles the exciting era of whaling.