第一部 (Folio), CHAPTER II. (Right Whale).—In one respect this is
Moby-Dick identifies the right whale as the most venerable of leviathans, being the first whale species regularly hunted by humans. It yields two primary commercial products: whalebone (also called baleen) and whale oil, which the text notes is considered an inferior article in commerce. The right whale goes by numerous names among fishermen, including The Whale, Greenland Whale, Black Whale, Great Whale, True Whale, and Right Whale. Naturalists and whalemen across different nations and languages have designated it variously: the Great Mysticetus (English naturalists), the Greenland Whale (English whalemen), the Baleine Ordinaire (French whalemen), and the Growlands Walfish (Swedes). The historical hunting grounds for this species span multiple regions—the Dutch and English pursued it in Arctic seas for over two centuries, while American fishermen hunted it in the Indian Ocean, on the Brazil Banks, along the Nor’ West Coast, and other locations known as Right Whale Cruising Grounds.
Right Whale Status as the First Regularly Hunted Leviathan, Nomenclature, and Historical Hunting Grounds
The chapter establishes the right whale’s preeminence as the first leviathan regularly hunted by humanity. This status is reinforced through its commercial yields of whalebone and the inferior whale oil. The extensive nomenclature surrounding the species reflects its long history of exploitation and the varied cultural perspectives of different whaling nations. The geographical range of hunting grounds demonstrates the species’ importance to international whaling operations over centuries.
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