Absalom Boston (1785–1855) was a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

mariner who was the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

captain to sail a

whaleship A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

, with an all-black crew, in 1822.

Biography

Absalom Boston was born in

Nantucket, Massachusetts Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

, to Seneca Boston, an African-American ex-slave father, and Thankful Micah, a

Wampanoag The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 17 ...

Indian mother. His uncle, a slave named Prince Boston, was part of the crew of a 1770 whaling voyage, but refused to turn over his earnings to his white master. Instead, he went to court and won both his earnings and freedom, making him the first black slave to win his freedom in a U.S. jury trial.

Bill Delahunt William David Delahunt (born July 18, 1941) is an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He is a former U.S. Representative for , serving from 1997 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Delahunt did not seek re-election i ...

, remarks made durin
"The Role of Civil Rights Organizations in History"
February 11, 1997, ''Congressional Record'' Volume 143, U.S. Government Printing Office. Boston spent his early years working in the whaling industry. By the time he reached 20, he acquired enough money to purchase property in Nantucket. Ten years later, he obtained a license to open and operate a public inn. In 1822, Boston became the captain of the ''Industry'', a whaleship manned entirely with an African-American crew. The six-month journey returned with 70 barrels of

whale oil Whale oil is oil obtained from the blubber of whales. Whale oil from the bowhead whale was sometimes known as train oil, which comes from the Dutch word ''traan'' ("tears, tear" or "drop"). Sperm oil, a special kind of oil obtained from the ...

and the entire crew intact. Boston retired from the sea after the ''Industry'' returned to Nantucket from its historic voyage. He concentrated on becoming a business and community leader, and also ran for public office. Together with fellow captain, Edward Pompey, he led the Nantucket abolitionist movement. He was also a founding trustee of Nantucket's African Baptist Society, and the African Meeting House in Nantucket. In 1845, after his daughter Phebe Ann Boston was barred from attending a public school, he successfully brought a lawsuit against the Nantucket municipal government to integrate the public education system.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boston, Absalom 1785 births 1855 deaths African-American businesspeople American people in whaling Sea captains People from Nantucket, Massachusetts 19th-century American businesspeople Wampanoag people American abolitionists Activists from Massachusetts Businesspeople from Massachusetts Native American people from Massachusetts 19th-century Native Americans