Nantucket History

The "Faraway Island"
Named by the Wampanoag Tribe that lived on Nantucket, the Island is also known as the "Grey Lady" for its fog and the grey shingled homes. Located 30 miles South of Cape Cod, Nantucket is a historic treasure and a magical place to visit.

Sighted by the Norsemen in the 11th century, Nantucket was settled in the 1600s as a whaling community. At its peak, Nantucket was the third largest city in Massachusetts and was known as the whaling capital of the world. Herman Melville based Moby Dick on the story of The Essex, a Nantucket whaling ship that fought a sperm whale -- and the whale won. The handwoven lightship baskets with their scrimshaw features unique to Nantucket were crafted by the whalers during their long months at sea.

Nantucket is also known for its cranberries, and is home to one of the largest cranberry bogs in the world. It also has more moorland than any other area in the United States. Since the 1880s, tourism has been the dominant industry on the Island. The regular island population of 10,000 swells to 50,000 during the summer months. 

Nantucket Abolitionists
The Quakers settled in Nantucket early in the 18th century to escape persecution from the Massachusetts Bay Colonists. The first group to formally form on Nantucket, their members represented the leading merchants and public figures, including Benjamin Franklin's mother, Abigail Folger. The Quakers were known for their pacifism and opposition to slavery.

In August 1842, Nantucket hosted a six-day anti-slavery convention. Speakers included William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Stephen S. Foster, and Eliza Barney (one of the earliest abolitionist women to speak in public gatherings against slavery). The height of the convention was the passionate and incendiary Foster who described clergy members who owned slaves to be members of a "Brotherhood of Thieves." Naming specific Island clergymen who did not support the abolitionist cause by name, Foster's fiery rhetoric shocked and provoked the crowd, spurring a riot. For the next three days of the convention, an angry mob followed and threatened those gathering at the convention, forcing them to move from the Atheneum to Town Hall to a park, ultimately ending the convention early.

The Island had historically been known for its tolerance, such as during the Revolutionary War, when Tories, Patriots, and Quaker pacifists sought neutrality. At this time, however, Nantucket was struggling with integration efforts. At the time of the 1842 convention and riot, the Island had been struggling over the issue of whether to integrate its schools and churches. This debate continued until 1847, when the schools were finally integrated.

Sources: 
- The Nantucket Chamber of Commerce (http://www.nantucketchamber.org/visitor/trivia.html
- http://www.nha.org/history/hn/HN-n40n3-brotherhood.htm
- http:www.nha.org/history/hn/HN-fall03-pariseau.htm