๐๐ฎ๐ฝ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ช๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ง. ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐
๐๐ฎ๐ฝ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ช๐ถ๐น๐น๐ถ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ง. ๐ฆ๐ต๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐บ๐ถ๐น๐
William T. Shorey (1859-1919) was a famous captain in the last days of whaling. He was born in Barbados, the son of a Scottish sugar planter and an Indian creole woman. Shorey began seafaring as a teenager and in 1876 he made his first whaling voyage.
Whaling brought him to California and he married the daughter from a leading African American family in San Francisco. In 1886 he became the only black West Coast ship captain. Known for his skill and leadership, Shorey experienced many adventures and dangers at sea with multiracial crews before his retirement in 1908.
Over time, larger, steam-powered vessels took the place of obsolete sailing ships and black seamen were forced to accept inferior employment on ships as cooks and stewards. The era of significant participation by blacks in whaling ended in 1923 when the Wanderer went aground off Nantucket, MA.
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