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Whaling
$1.69 AUD
The history of whaling is a fascinating look at international efforts to protect finite resources in international waters, otherwise known as common territory or commons. While whaling can date back to 6000BC, large-scale whaling is thought to have commenced around the twelfth century, with the Basques who killed a large number of right whales in the Bay of Biscay. Despite very primitive modes of slaughter, using hand-held harpoons and man-powered boats, they were believed to have depleted the local whale stocks within a century. In the following centuries, even without significant technological improvements, whaling continued unchecked in the North Atlantic and resulted in the extinction of the gray whale and a significant reduction in the numbers of other species.
