0:00:02 > 0:00:05I have crossed the Atlantic to ride
0:00:05 > 0:00:07the railroads of North America
0:00:07 > 0:00:10with my faithful Appleton's guide.
0:00:12 > 0:00:15Published in the late 19th century,
0:00:15 > 0:00:18it will lead me to all that is magnificent,
0:00:18 > 0:00:19charming...
0:00:21 > 0:00:23confusing, invigorating,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26and awesome in the United States and Canada.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32As I journey through this vast continent,
0:00:32 > 0:00:34I'll encounter revolutionaries.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37And feminists, pilgrims, and witches.
0:00:37 > 0:00:41And ride some of the oldest and most breathtaking
0:00:41 > 0:00:42railroads in the world.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12My rail journey continues in Massachusetts.
0:01:12 > 0:01:16It was here in 1620 that Puritan Pilgrims from England landed,
0:01:16 > 0:01:21seeking freedom to practice their religion.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23More than two centuries later,
0:01:23 > 0:01:25Methodists demonstrated a similar
0:01:25 > 0:01:28independence of spirit.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32Immigrants from Europe enjoyed new liberties in America,
0:01:32 > 0:01:37but eventually a heavy price would be paid by the indigenous population
0:01:37 > 0:01:39and by the creatures of the sea.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47My travels through the north east of the United States
0:01:47 > 0:01:48and Canada began in Boston.
0:01:48 > 0:01:52I'll move down the coast exploring the New England states,
0:01:52 > 0:01:54then head north to Lake Placid.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57From there, I'll across the Canadian border
0:01:57 > 0:02:01to Montreal in French-speaking Quebec.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03I'll visit the capital, Ottawa,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06and the Thousand Islands of the St Lawrence River,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09before finishing in Canada's largest city, Toronto.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13On this trip I'll start in Plymouth, Massachusetts,
0:02:13 > 0:02:15where the Pilgrim fathers settled.
0:02:15 > 0:02:17I'll travel south to Hyannis,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20and catch a ferry to the wealthy holiday destination
0:02:20 > 0:02:22of Martha's Vineyard.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25I'll end my journey on the neighbouring island of Nantucket,
0:02:25 > 0:02:27once the whaling capital of the world.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31Along the way, I'll travel back in time
0:02:31 > 0:02:34on the Cape Cod heritage railway...
0:02:34 > 0:02:36Hi, there.
0:02:36 > 0:02:37How are you doing?
0:02:37 > 0:02:39Great to be on board.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42..uncover the brutality of whale hunting...
0:02:42 > 0:02:44A good haul would mean that they would kill
0:02:44 > 0:02:46anywhere from 50 to 60 whales.
0:02:46 > 0:02:4850 or 60?
0:02:48 > 0:02:52..and marvel at those still at large in these waters.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54Yes, and up comes a tail!
0:02:54 > 0:02:56Such a breathtaking sight.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07I'm beginning in the pretty seaside community
0:03:07 > 0:03:09of Plymouth on Cape Cod Bay.
0:03:12 > 0:03:14When my guide was published in the 1870s,
0:03:14 > 0:03:17it was a flourishing manufacturing community.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22Today it's known as America's Hometown
0:03:22 > 0:03:25for the special place that it holds
0:03:25 > 0:03:26in the nation's history.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31Plymouth, says the guidebook,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34will be forever famous as the landing place
0:03:34 > 0:03:38of the Pilgrim Fathers on December the 22nd, 1620,
0:03:38 > 0:03:42and the site of the first settlement in New England.
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Plymouth Rock, on which the pilgrims first landed,
0:03:45 > 0:03:47is covered by a handsome,
0:03:47 > 0:03:48granite canopy,
0:03:48 > 0:03:50and surrounded by an iron fence,
0:03:50 > 0:03:54almost as though they thought it was going to escape.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57The Pilgrims had had a grim Atlantic crossing.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59They did not know how to live off this land.
0:03:59 > 0:04:03They were not prepared for the New England winter.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05But help was at hand.
0:04:07 > 0:04:13The English Pilgrims arrived here on the merchant ship, the Mayflower,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17from Plymouth in Devon, and set about building a new life.
0:04:17 > 0:04:19Here at the Plimoth Plantation,
0:04:19 > 0:04:23their 17th-century farming village has been recreated,
0:04:23 > 0:04:25and a cast of actors helps to bring it to life.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33The museum's deputy director is Richard Pickering.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Richard, describe to me the trials and tribulations
0:04:36 > 0:04:39faced by the Pilgrims when they land here in 1620.
0:04:39 > 0:04:40Coming into an unfamiliar land,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43and then the first winter was particularly difficult,
0:04:43 > 0:04:46and there was already almost a foot of snow on the ground.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Half of the town died within two and a half months.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51We don't know what the cause of it was.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54It has sometimes been thought to be hunger,
0:04:54 > 0:04:56but actually when you lose that many that quickly,
0:04:56 > 0:04:58your supplies get stronger,
0:04:58 > 0:05:00so it was probably communicable infection.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05With their community reduced to just 52 people,
0:05:05 > 0:05:07and with little knowledge of their new home,
0:05:07 > 0:05:11the Pilgrims luckily encountered the Native American Wampanoag people,
0:05:11 > 0:05:13and their leader Massasoit.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16When they make contact with the indigenous people,
0:05:16 > 0:05:19is there a helpful relationship between the two?
0:05:19 > 0:05:23There is. Massasoit comes to the English that first March
0:05:23 > 0:05:26because he needs their military assistance.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28The plague that has swept through
0:05:28 > 0:05:32and destroyed so many of his people has left him weak in comparison
0:05:32 > 0:05:34to the nearby Narragansett nation,
0:05:34 > 0:05:37and so by going to the strangers along the shore
0:05:37 > 0:05:40and getting their technology,
0:05:40 > 0:05:42he strengthens himself.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Alongside the Pilgrim's village
0:05:44 > 0:05:47is a recreation of a Wampanoag community.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49- Great to see you.- Good to see you.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53I'm meeting Native American expert Darius Coombs.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Darius, what was the extent of the Wampanoag nation,
0:05:55 > 0:05:59at the time of the arrival of English in 1620?
0:05:59 > 0:06:01Well, before the English arrived here in 1620,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04we numbered probably over 100,000 people.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07We had around 70 Wampanoag communities.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10- How did the people live?- During the spring and summer, we would come out
0:06:10 > 0:06:13near the ocean, that's when we'd do our planting and fishing.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17And as you see here, we have our corn, beans, and squash planted.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20What corn does - corn takes nitrogen out of the ground.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23And what beans do - beans add it right back into the ground.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25So, then, the squash, they have a large leaf
0:06:25 > 0:06:27and that will shade the ground and keep the ground soft.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30So it's all companion planting which they help each other out.
0:06:30 > 0:06:31- So it's sustainable.- Yeah.
0:06:35 > 0:06:36- Hello, Melissa.- Hello.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38Melissa, I'm Michael.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41Hi. What kind of tea do we have?
0:06:41 > 0:06:43It's actually a blueberry tea.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46- Is that good for you?- It is. It's full of vitamins and antioxidants.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50Thank very much.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Darius, the English wouldn't know how to live off this land.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58No, this is a new world to them.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02There is a native man, a very famous Wampanoag man named Squanto,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04known as Squanto today.
0:07:04 > 0:07:06And the spring of 1621 he came out
0:07:06 > 0:07:09and taught the colonists how to plant corn.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12He did that by digging a hole in the ground,
0:07:12 > 0:07:14putting a fish as fertiliser, and then planting corn seed.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18So the first contact between the two is peaceful?
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Yeah, in a way that both sides needed each other.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23Massasoit being the Wampanoag leader,
0:07:23 > 0:07:26he came out and formed a peace treaty with English,
0:07:26 > 0:07:30March of 1621, which lasted over 50 years between the two people.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35That episode of harmonious coexistence
0:07:35 > 0:07:38would eventually give birth to perhaps the biggest celebration
0:07:38 > 0:07:40in the American calendar.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44In the autumn of 1621 when the colonists first planted,
0:07:44 > 0:07:47they had a very large harvest that year.
0:07:47 > 0:07:51The English invited Massasoit to a three-day feast.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53During this time he sent his men out hunting,
0:07:53 > 0:07:55and they came back with five dear.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57We're not even sure turkey was at that feast.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01They do mention fowl, and fowl could have been duck, goose, partridge,
0:08:01 > 0:08:03and it could've been turkey, but we're not really sure.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07That feast became known as the first Thanksgiving dinner.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10By the time of my guide book in the 1870s,
0:08:10 > 0:08:13it was widely celebrated across the United States,
0:08:13 > 0:08:16with roast turkey and cranberry sauce.
0:08:16 > 0:08:21But not until 1942 did Thanksgiving Day become an official holiday
0:08:21 > 0:08:23on the fourth Thursday in November.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28But as it turned out, the white man behaved appallingly
0:08:28 > 0:08:32to the indigenous population, the Native Americans.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36So don't some people feel that the day is a celebration of oppression?
0:08:36 > 0:08:39It varies a lot. It depends on who you talk to.
0:08:39 > 0:08:41Some people consider it to be a day of mourning.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44We have to remember the ones we've lost in the past.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49Myself personally, it's a day we spend a lot of time with our family,
0:08:49 > 0:08:51and give thanks for being here.
0:08:51 > 0:08:53So you try to be positive?
0:08:53 > 0:08:58You've got to be. That's the way you've got to go through life.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02Following the arrival on the American continent of the Europeans,
0:09:02 > 0:09:06the native American Indian population
0:09:06 > 0:09:10was rapidly reduced to a small fraction of itself.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23I'm picking up my journey 20 miles south-east of Plymouth in Sandwich,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26where I'm thrilled to discover that there's a heritage rail service.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Appleton's tells me that,
0:09:31 > 0:09:36"The Cape Cod division of the Old Colony railroad runs round down to
0:09:36 > 0:09:39"Hyannis on the south shore of Cape Cod,
0:09:39 > 0:09:42"which is becoming a popular summer resort."
0:09:42 > 0:09:45And, luckily, the trains still run.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56- Hi, there!- How are you doing?- Ha-ha!
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Great to be on board!
0:10:07 > 0:10:12The first trains arrived in Sandwich in 1848.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14The Old Colony railroad from Boston
0:10:14 > 0:10:18brought sand to a glass company on the Cape.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22Six years later, a passenger service was launched,
0:10:22 > 0:10:25and it was extended almost 15 miles down to Hyannis,
0:10:25 > 0:10:27where I'm heading today.
0:10:27 > 0:10:29- Andrew!- Hi, Michael.
0:10:29 > 0:10:30It's nice to meet you.
0:10:30 > 0:10:33Andrew Eldredge is a railway historian and
0:10:33 > 0:10:36maintains the signals on the line.
0:10:36 > 0:10:38Lemon tart with raspberry sauce.
0:10:38 > 0:10:39- Enjoy.- Thank you, Debbie.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41You're welcome.
0:10:41 > 0:10:42Ah!
0:10:42 > 0:10:46Andrew, when was this line at its peak as a passenger railroad?
0:10:46 > 0:10:49I would say from about the 1870s to 1880s.
0:10:49 > 0:10:5214 out of the 15 towns all had rail service at their peak.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56And I imagine it bringing hordes of tourists down from Boston.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58As time went on, absolutely.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01When did it decline for passenger traffic?
0:11:01 > 0:11:03The railroad started to decline in this area,
0:11:03 > 0:11:06as it did in much of the country, probably in the 1920s,
0:11:06 > 0:11:081930s as the automobile became more popular.
0:11:08 > 0:11:12Passenger trains actually stopped finally in the 1960s.
0:11:12 > 0:11:17The new Cape Cod Central Railroad was launched in 1999.
0:11:17 > 0:11:22Its six engines painted cranberry red after the local crop,
0:11:22 > 0:11:26breathed new life into the service along a 27-mile route.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29These vacation areas must get very congested with traffic.
0:11:29 > 0:11:32Do you ever feel it would be a good idea to revive the railroads?
0:11:32 > 0:11:36Absolutely. The past four years or so we have a train in the summertime
0:11:36 > 0:11:39which comes down from the city of Boston on the weekends
0:11:39 > 0:11:41to bring tourists down without their cars.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43- Popular?- It is. It's very popular.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46Well, you offer delicious food on board.
0:11:46 > 0:11:47Bon appetit!
0:12:01 > 0:12:05When I think of Cape Cod, I remember President John F Kennedy,
0:12:05 > 0:12:10who holidayed here and whose life is celebrated in nearby Hyannis Port.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19At the harbour, I'm continuing my journey by ferry.
0:12:19 > 0:12:20One ticket to Martha's Vineyard.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23- Thank you so much.- You're welcome. - Bye-bye.- Have a good day.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35This part of the trip around New England
0:12:35 > 0:12:38is just kind of one pretty place after another.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52Appleton's tells me, "Martha's Vineyard is an island 20 miles long,
0:12:52 > 0:12:56"separated from the mainland by the Vineyard Sound.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00"It suffered much from the British during the Revolutionary War.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05"It has become noted for its annual camp meetings at the great Methodist
0:13:05 > 0:13:07"camp meeting ground every August.
0:13:07 > 0:13:13"The grounds include a tabernacle capable of seating 5,000 persons."
0:13:13 > 0:13:17I had no idea that Methodism was such a broad tent.
0:13:30 > 0:13:35Today, the island is famous as the summer destination of presidents -
0:13:35 > 0:13:38both the Clinton and Obama families vacationed here.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45But in the 1800s, it offered a very different kind of retreat.
0:13:47 > 0:13:52On the north shore at Oak Bluffs lies the Methodist Camp Ground,
0:13:52 > 0:13:56with over 300 cottages on 34 acres,
0:13:56 > 0:14:00with a church and a tabernacle designed for large services.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04Still in use for worship, it's the largest venue on the island.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08It really is a most impressive structure.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12This beautiful wrought ironwork and then the stained-glass windows which
0:14:12 > 0:14:14give it that ecclesiastical feel,
0:14:14 > 0:14:18and I have to imagine this place filled with thousands of people,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21singing and praying and their prayers going up to
0:14:21 > 0:14:26the very tip of the enormous cross above, and then beyond to God.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32In the early 19th century, a Protestant religious revival,
0:14:32 > 0:14:37which began in Kentucky, spread across America.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41As new members flocked to join the Baptist and Methodist churches,
0:14:41 > 0:14:43the camp meeting movement was born,
0:14:43 > 0:14:47and it was taken up enthusiastically here in New England.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53Sally Dagnall, whose family has been coming here since the early 1900s,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56has written a history of this camp.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59Sally, this is a strikingly beautiful place,
0:14:59 > 0:15:03and my Appleton's devotes a whole paragraph to the Methodist meetings.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06That makes me think they must been pretty big and they must have been
0:15:06 > 0:15:08- pretty well known.- They were huge.
0:15:08 > 0:15:13It was in 1869 that it was reported that over 30,000 people,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16if you can imagine in this spot, came here during the week.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18And I have to tell you that Methodism
0:15:18 > 0:15:21was a very little-known religion,
0:15:21 > 0:15:27or not highly practiced, and with these camp meetings, they grew huge,
0:15:27 > 0:15:29as far as membership.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Methodism began in Britain in the 18th century,
0:15:32 > 0:15:34led by Pastor John Wesley,
0:15:34 > 0:15:37and lay preachers travelled to the United States
0:15:37 > 0:15:39to attract new followers.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41Here in Martha's Vineyard,
0:15:41 > 0:15:46recent convert Jeremiah Pease decided to set up a camp in 1835.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49We don't know how many people attended that first meeting,
0:15:49 > 0:15:53but we do know that 69 people were converted,
0:15:53 > 0:15:55and six souls were reclaimed.
0:15:55 > 0:15:57You call them camps.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59Were they literally living in tents?
0:15:59 > 0:16:03Absolutely. There were nine tents originally with, I have to tell you,
0:16:03 > 0:16:07a curtain down the middle - men on one side, women on the other.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09The family tents started emerging
0:16:09 > 0:16:14when the children started to come about 1840, 1841.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16What was their routine while they were here?
0:16:16 > 0:16:18It was very serious business.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20Religion morning, noon and night.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24Services three times a day and in between hymn sings,
0:16:24 > 0:16:26bible studies, and smaller prayer groups.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30So they are living under makeshift tents and they've got this fierce,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33if I may say so, religious regime all day long.
0:16:33 > 0:16:34What do you think conditions were like?
0:16:34 > 0:16:36Very, very primitive.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38We didn't have running water.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40They had to bring their bedding, their food.
0:16:40 > 0:16:43It was in the middle of nowhere. It was a sheep pasture.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46As ever more worshippers flocked to the camp,
0:16:46 > 0:16:49it became one of the largest in the United States.
0:16:49 > 0:16:51A church was built in 1878,
0:16:51 > 0:16:54and the following year the camp association
0:16:54 > 0:16:57added the tabernacle to cope with the growing numbers.
0:16:57 > 0:17:01Although the camp continues its religious purpose to this day,
0:17:01 > 0:17:04it had also become a popular break for families,
0:17:04 > 0:17:07and cottages began to replace the tents.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09What was the origin of these cottages?
0:17:09 > 0:17:13Most of these cottages were built between 1859 and 1880.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16People built platforms for their tents,
0:17:16 > 0:17:18and then sides were built and,
0:17:18 > 0:17:20eventually, the roof and what emerged
0:17:20 > 0:17:23was what we refer to as the Martha's Vineyard campground cottage.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26You actually stay here in the summer.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28- Absolutely.- What's it like to do that?
0:17:28 > 0:17:33It's wonderful. This community is like America was 100 years ago.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36I love it and I've been doing it for over 70 years, so...
0:17:36 > 0:17:38Gosh, you really are a fan.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40And old fan!
0:17:57 > 0:18:01- Nantucket?- Yeah. - Thank you.- Thank you.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06This morning I'm bound for an island that is inextricably linked with one
0:18:06 > 0:18:08of the planet's most wonderful creatures.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13"Nantucket is about 30 miles from Martha's Vineyard,
0:18:13 > 0:18:16"from which it is reached by a daily steamer."
0:18:16 > 0:18:19This is the modern-day equivalent.
0:18:19 > 0:18:21"The town of Nantucket was at one time
0:18:21 > 0:18:24"the chief whaling port of the world,
0:18:24 > 0:18:28"and increased rapidly until 1846.
0:18:28 > 0:18:32"After that, the whale fishery, and with it the prosperity of the town,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35"rapidly declined."
0:18:35 > 0:18:38I feel sorry for those redundant hunters,
0:18:38 > 0:18:41but even more so for those poor cetaceans.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51Whales were hunted for their oil, which was highly prized.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55It was used for lighting and as a lubricant in machinery.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Once the rough-and-tumble centre of the whaling industry,
0:18:59 > 0:19:05Nantucket is today one of America's most exclusive holiday destinations.
0:19:14 > 0:19:17The museum in the town centre traces the history
0:19:17 > 0:19:21of whaling from its early 18th century beginnings.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23I'm meeting Peggy Godwin.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28Ha! Peggy, that is absolutely spectacular,
0:19:28 > 0:19:31this enormous skeleton of a...?
0:19:31 > 0:19:32- Sperm whale.- A sperm whale.
0:19:32 > 0:19:37- Right.- Now, tell me, how did the whaling industry start in Nantucket?
0:19:37 > 0:19:39It first began with just drift whaling,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42which was when a whale would just wash ashore here,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45but eventually whalers started going out in small boats
0:19:45 > 0:19:47and pursuing North Atlantic right whales,
0:19:47 > 0:19:50which happened to migrate close by our shores.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52Then they discovered sperm whales.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55The sperm whale has wonderful oil in its blubber,
0:19:55 > 0:19:58but it's the only whale that has oil in its head.
0:20:00 > 0:20:03Sperm whales found only in deep water
0:20:03 > 0:20:05were the most dangerous to hunt.
0:20:05 > 0:20:10But Nantucket whalers travelled as far as the Pacific and the Arctic
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Circle in pursuit of the highly lucrative mammals,
0:20:14 > 0:20:17with trips sometimes lasting two or three years.
0:20:17 > 0:20:22Their adventures inspired Herman Melvin's classic novel Moby Dick.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25- How did they hunt the whale? - Well, the whale ship would
0:20:25 > 0:20:28carry four or five whale boats, like this.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31- Mmm.- And in each boat, there would be a harpooner in the bow,
0:20:31 > 0:20:33four men in the centre who handled the oars,
0:20:33 > 0:20:37and if they got close enough to the whale, they would harpoon it.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39And the harpoon looked like this.
0:20:41 > 0:20:45And each one is attached to about 1,500 feet of line, and then the
0:20:45 > 0:20:49whale would run out on what was called, "the Nantucket sleighride."
0:20:49 > 0:20:52But eventually the whale gets tired and now they use a lance.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54- Obviously we feel very sorry for the whale...- Right.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58..but a very risky business for the men as well.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01Absolutely. Very easy for one of the men to get pulled overboard.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03The whale could decide to dive.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06Nantucket must have had its fair share of widows.
0:21:06 > 0:21:07There were quite a few widows in town,
0:21:07 > 0:21:09and a lot of fatherless children.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11It was a really dangerous business.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14How many whales might there be per voyage?
0:21:15 > 0:21:18A good haul would mean that they would kill anywhere
0:21:18 > 0:21:20- from 50 to 60 whales.- 50 or 60?!
0:21:20 > 0:21:23Mm-hmm. They were processing the blubber at sea.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25They'd bring the head right up onto the deck of the ship,
0:21:25 > 0:21:27make a hole in the top of the head,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30and then they would bail out all the valuable oil.
0:21:30 > 0:21:34And the youngest member of the crew, who was usually a teenage boy,
0:21:34 > 0:21:37would be stripped down and lowered into the head of the whale
0:21:37 > 0:21:39to get every last drop.
0:21:43 > 0:21:47Ships could return with as many as 2,000 barrels of oil, which were
0:21:47 > 0:21:51brought ashore and processed in factories like this.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55It was great for lubricating machinery and it provided a bright,
0:21:55 > 0:21:57clean light in people's homes,
0:21:57 > 0:21:59so it was really used all over the world.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03You're making me realise that whale oil was really a fundamental part of
0:22:03 > 0:22:06the global economy in the middle 19th century.
0:22:06 > 0:22:09Absolutely. It was really America's first global industry.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13Business boomed,
0:22:13 > 0:22:16and as home port to 70 whaling ships,
0:22:16 > 0:22:20Nantucket was the whaling capital of the world.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23But it wasn't to last.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27My Appleton's guide tells me of an enormous fire in Nantucket in 1846,
0:22:27 > 0:22:30and the decline in whaling thereafter. Are the two connected?
0:22:30 > 0:22:34They are. Certainly the fire was so destructive that a lot of people
0:22:34 > 0:22:37lost their way of making a living in that one night.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40But it was only one of the reasons for the decline.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44The biggest blow, certainly, was the discovery of oil in Pennsylvania -
0:22:44 > 0:22:47oil in the ground - and that produced kerosene. Kerosene was a
0:22:47 > 0:22:51cheaper lighting fluid, and it began to replace whale oil.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56But commercial whaling continued around the world,
0:22:56 > 0:22:58and by the middle of the 20th century,
0:22:58 > 0:23:00some species were near extinction.
0:23:01 > 0:23:07In 1986, a moratorium on commercial whale hunting was introduced,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10and many populations have shown substantial recovery.
0:23:11 > 0:23:15On my whale-watching tour, I'm hoping to see humpbacks,
0:23:15 > 0:23:17which I'm told swim here, off the Cape.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23You can feel the anticipation on the boat. Everybody is quite silent.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26And the boat is actually crowded, and the boat is silent.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39Ahead, there seems to be a small pod of whales.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43I'm seeing lots of plumes of water rising,
0:23:43 > 0:23:47and now the great shape of the back of one of the whales.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49Oh, beautiful, beautiful sight!
0:23:51 > 0:23:53There she blows!
0:23:56 > 0:23:59Whoa! HE LAUGHS
0:23:59 > 0:24:02Such a beautiful shape as they dive back under the water.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09Now we are incredibly close.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13I can see the blowhole here, so clearly. I can see the nose of the
0:24:13 > 0:24:15whales through the water.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19Oh! They're coming straight for the boat at this moment.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22You can see them head-on. This is so exciting!
0:24:22 > 0:24:26Three of them alongside. It's as though they're going under our boat.
0:24:30 > 0:24:33Oh, and the tail coming through the water!
0:24:33 > 0:24:36And again! And again!
0:24:38 > 0:24:40Such a breathtaking sight!
0:24:42 > 0:24:46On board with us today is Regina Asmutis-Silvia,
0:24:46 > 0:24:50executive director of Whale and Dolphin Conservation North America.
0:24:51 > 0:24:56Regina, given the moratorium observed by most countries, what is
0:24:56 > 0:25:00the biggest danger now presented by mankind towards the whales?
0:25:00 > 0:25:04So, whaling still does occur in some parts of the world,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07but the other two biggest human-caused threats are vessel
0:25:07 > 0:25:10strikes, particularly for large ships,
0:25:10 > 0:25:13and also what we call by-catch, which is unintentional entanglements
0:25:13 > 0:25:17in fishing gear. There's estimates that over 300,000 whales and
0:25:17 > 0:25:20dolphins are dying a year as a result of by-catch, and in the past
0:25:20 > 0:25:23couple of years we've had over 40 humpback whales wash up
0:25:23 > 0:25:26along the East Coast, and the animals that were examined were
0:25:26 > 0:25:28largely from ship strikes.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32What role do the whales play in the balance of the planet?
0:25:32 > 0:25:35Most of our oxygen that we breathe is actually produced by a tiny
0:25:35 > 0:25:37little plant-like organism in the ocean called phytoplankton,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40but because it has to live near the ocean surface, it doesn't...
0:25:40 > 0:25:42It can't go to the bottom for its
0:25:42 > 0:25:44nutrients, and that's where whales come in.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47And so whales will feed at depth, but they come up to the surface, and
0:25:47 > 0:25:50when they defecate at the surface it provides phosphorus and iron,
0:25:50 > 0:25:51so that that provides all the
0:25:51 > 0:25:54phytoplankton with the nutrients they need.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56So, like, these whales are doing this amazing,
0:25:56 > 0:25:59amazing job of really helping to keep our planet healthy.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03Well, how have you enjoyed today?
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Very much. Yeah. It's wonderful to see.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10So many whales, it's amazing. Yeah. So big.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13- Made me feel small. - I think it's amazing.
0:26:13 > 0:26:16- Worth the 50 bucks.- It's one of the coolest things I have ever done.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19- Absolutely.- One of the coolest things you've ever done, really?
0:26:19 > 0:26:20- Yeah, it's amazing.- When they flip
0:26:20 > 0:26:23- their tails, that's quite something, isn't it?- It really is, yeah.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27- It's really pretty. - Does it make you feel emotional?
0:26:27 > 0:26:30- Yes.- She almost cried. - LAUGHTER
0:26:30 > 0:26:34- I could have cried, yeah.- Yeah? - Yeah.- Why do you think that is?
0:26:34 > 0:26:37I don't know. I'm like that with animals, any kind of animals.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39If I see them in the wild, especially.
0:26:39 > 0:26:41- No, I am too. I get emotional.- Yeah.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54We have had a wonderful day.
0:26:54 > 0:26:58They're so enormous, they're so elegant, they're so dignified.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00I'm privileged to see them.
0:27:05 > 0:27:06Whoa!
0:27:14 > 0:27:18The Wampanoag Nation, in common with many other Native Americans,
0:27:18 > 0:27:22venerated the bounty of the earth and practice what we now call
0:27:22 > 0:27:25sustainable fishing and farming.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29The Plymouth Pilgrims gave thanks for their good harvests, and the
0:27:29 > 0:27:32Methodists drew themselves closer to nature,
0:27:32 > 0:27:36meeting amongst the oak groves of Martha's Vineyards.
0:27:36 > 0:27:40But the European immigrants brought with them technologies on an
0:27:40 > 0:27:44industrial scale which had a much greater impact on the environment,
0:27:44 > 0:27:47and applied them even to whaling.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51The populations of the oceans are still struggling to recover from
0:27:51 > 0:27:54centuries of rapacious hunting.
0:27:58 > 0:28:04Next time, I'll help to prepare a traditional New England clambake...
0:28:04 > 0:28:06Whoa! That looks good!
0:28:06 > 0:28:10..uncover the story behind one of America's greatest plays...
0:28:10 > 0:28:12People are taken aback,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15because it's sad, it's harrowing,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18and the locals were really shocked.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21..and drill with cadets of the US Coast Guard.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24Right shoulder, arm!
0:28:24 > 0:28:26Forward, march!