Whaling started in the
10th century. In 1712, the Americans started to hunt the sperm whale.
At that time, they used rowboats and threw harpoons by hand. Whaling
started to spread all over the world. In 1843, whaling was very popular
until 50 years later when it was almost over.
In 1880, the Norwegians began shore whaling. Very shortly after, shore whaling began to spread. After three test expeditions to the Antarctic, the first whaling station called Grytviken opened in southern Georgia. The area became very wealthy and major adjustments were made. The conditions for the expansions was the invention that made it possible to make margarine with almost 100% of whale oil.
The use of the steam whaleboat and development of the harpoon gun and the grenade were important to the development of modern whaling. In case the whale hit the front of the ship, the grenade exploded in the inside of the whale and the whale died. Then, the harpoon could easily hook up to the whale and it could be carried to the station.
When whales were almost extinct, 17 nations signed an agreement where the International Whaling Commission (IWC) set a maximum catch to 16.000 units. Today, whaling is still done, but it is forbidden to catch young whales and female whales with a sucking kid.
This is how whaling history has dramatically changed over time.