In Pursuit of Prosperity: Disease and Death in a Massachusetts Commercial Port, 1660–1850

Little is known about the direction or magnitude of mortality change in the U. S. prior to the Civil War. This study uses family reconstitution data for Nantucket, Massachusetts from 1660 to 1850 to assess mortality patterns over the 190-year period. Unsuited to agriculture and dominated by a single industry-deep-sea whaling-Nantucket experienced both significant prosperity and severe economic crises, as commercial success brought unintended consequences in its wake. The advantages of isolation, low population density, and economic prosperity enjoyed by early residents helped maximize their longevity. But their descendants, faced with increasing population density, environmental deterioration, wars, and occupational hazards, were more exposed to the risk of death. The primacy of economic motives in driving Nantucket's history makes the island's story a universal one.