They used harpoons to kill the animals. The whale’s fat, or blubber, was then cut into strips and cooked. This process also produced whale oil, which was used as lamp oil and to make candles and soap. Whale baleen was also used to make all sorts of objects. Whale oil factories in the Netherlands were known as stinckerijen for the stench they created. The whaling industry peaked in the first half of the 18th century, when it accounted for around 20 per cent of Dutch shipping. The Dutch government’s attempt to revive whaling after the Second World War was not a success, mostly because of the alarming rate of decline of the whale population. The last Dutch whaling expedition took place in 1963.
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