American whaling peaked in 1858, but it still found a place on this 1880 fisheries chart. That year, though whaling was still a lucrative business in Massachusetts, a paltry $408 worth of whaling was done in North Carolina. The chart also includes a neat world map of whaling grounds. Some fun facts about whaling: Nineteenth century whalers only got paid for their catch (called the "lay") so every voyage was a complete gamble. Ships that...
