1830s & 1840s: The Development of Industry
The city's population, doubled in the last decade, represented a diverse group of people. By 1836, the Port Society reported that immigrants made up one-third of all the sailors in port. While white Yankee sailors dominated the market, foreigners played an important role in the whaling industry. These immigrants primarily came from Europe (leading to New Bedford's current-day Portuguese population) but also the South Pacific, the Sandwich or Hawaiian Islands, and Southeast Asia. Immigrants often joined whaling voyages in process and came to New Bedford in search of future employment.
In addition, New Bedford's accessible port made it a key stop of the Underground Railroad. By 1850, people of color made up over six percent of the population, a higher percentage than Boston, Philadelphia or New York City. In addition, the city noted thirty-one black seafaring households of the city, five of whom owned real estate. A self-liberated black man walking the streets of New Bedford blended in among the multiethnic working waterfront. He could easily find himself work and start a new life among hundreds of transient seamen in port.
View this 1834 map of New Bedford, comparing the boardinghouses to the County Street mansions.
