page_title: Whaling in the Netherlands
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Whaling in the Netherlands / History
caption_attribution_description: 1598 map of the hree Arctic voyages (1594&#8211;1596) by Willem Barentsz. Delineatio cartae trium navigantium per Bataves, ad Septentrionalem plagam, Norvegiae, Moscoviae et novae Semblae Autore Wilhelmo Bernardo [1] [2]
context_page_description: Whaling in the Netherlands was a centuries-long tradition. The history of Dutch whaling begins with 17th-century exploration of Arctic fishing grounds; and the profitability of whaling in the 18th century drove further growth. Increased competition and political upheavals in Europe affected the stability of this maritime industry in the 19th century; and a combination of these factors cut short any further growth of Dutch whaling in the Antarctic.
  Modern, post-war whaling in the southern oceans was developed intensely, but continued growth of Dutch whaling was abbreviated as a result of multi-national treaties which similarly impacted other national whaling enterprises.
  The current Dutch government supports a moratorium on all whaling worldwide.
context_section_description: The beginnings of Dutch whaling are indirectly attributed to Willem Barentsz (anglicized as William Barents or Barentz) (1550–1597), who  was a Dutch navigator and explorer, a leader of early expeditions to the far north.  On his last voyage, Barentsz accompanied Jacob van Heemskerck as pilot, and Gerrit de Veer, the historian of the voyage, was on board as first mate. This expedition's discovery of the Arctic archipelago of Spitsbergen (now known as Svalbard) was to become the foundation for lucrative Dutch claims to the whaling grounds in and around the islands. In the fierce competition for the best whaling grounds, the Dutch construed that other nations had less right to hunt whales in waters which had been "discovered" by Dutch explorers.
  The development of Dutch whaling and sealing saw changes in the composition of crews, in shipbuilding technology, in governmental involvement and in the profitability of the industries.
caption: Barentsz' map, not published until 1599
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