Why Was The Cod Important To American History

The cod's importance to American history is undeniable. It was cod that attracted Europeans to North America for short-term fishing trips and eventually enticed them to stay.
The cod became one of the most sought-after fish in the North Atlantic, and it was its popularity that caused its enormous decline and the precarious situation today.
Fishing was
The Vikings and Basques were some of the first Europeans to travel to the coast of North America and harvest and cure cod. Cod was dried until it was hard, or cured using salt so that it was preserved for a long period of time.
Eventually, explorers such as Columbus and Cabot "discovered" the New World. Descriptions of the fish indicate that cod were as big as men, and some say that fishermen
When determining where to flee, the Pilgrims studied Smith's map and were intrigued by the label "Cape Cod." They were determined to profit from fishing, although according to Mark Kurlansky, in his book Cod: a Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, "they knew nothing about fishing," (p.
68) and while the Pilgrims were starving in 1621, there were British ships filling their holds with fish off the New England coast.
Believing they would "receive blessings" if they took pity on the Pilgrims and assisted them, the local Native Americans showed them how to catch cod and use the parts not eaten as fertilizer.
They also introduced the Pilgrims to quahogs, "steamers," and lobster, which they eventually ate in desperation.
Negotiations with the Native Americans led to our modern-day celebration of Thanksgiving, which would not have occurred if the Pilgrims did not sustain their stomachs and farms with cod.
The Pilgrims eventually established fishing stations in Gloucester, Salem, Dorchester, and Marblehead, Massachusetts, and Penobscot Bay, in what is now Maine. Cod was caught using handlines, with larger vessels sailing out to fishing grounds and then sending two men in dories to drop a line in the water. When a cod was caught, it was pulled up by
Then a "triangle trade" developed that linked cod to slavery and rum. High-quality cod was sold in Europe, with the colonists purchased European wine, fruit and other products. Then traders then went to the Caribbean, where they sold a low-end cod product called "West India cure" to feed the burgeoning slave population, and bought sugar, molasses (used to make rum in the colonies), cotton, tobacco, and salt.
Eventually, New Englanders also transported slaves to the Caribbean.
Cod fishing continued and made the colonies prosperous.
Modernization of Fishing
In the 1920's-1930's, more sophisticated and effective methods, such as gillnets and draggers were used. Commercial cod catches increased throughout the 1950's.
Fish processing techniques also expanded. Freezing techniques and filleting machinery eventually led to the development of fish sticks, marketed as a healthy convenience food. Factory ships started catching fish and freezing it out at sea.
Fishing Collapse
Technology improved and fishing grounds became more competitive. In the U.S., the Magnuson Act of 1976 prohibited foreign fisheries from entering the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) - 200 miles around the