David E. Bertão, The Portuguese Shore Whalers of California, 1854-1904

The definitive role of the American whaling industry in the Portuguese settlement of the United States is not as well-known as it might be. Before the mills attracted Atlantic islanders to southeastern Massachusetts, and before Azoreans began to settle in the agricultural regions of California, it was the presence of Azoreans and Cape Verdeans on American whalers sailing out of New Bedford and other ports of New England that promoted Portuguese settlement there. Similarly it was the large Portuguese presence on American whalers that facilitated the arrival of these islanders in San Francisco during the heady days of the California Gold Rush.