Unregulated Sealing in the Dependencies
This chapter provides a detailed account of the growth of the unregulated sealing industry in the Dependencies, in the same format as Chapter Two. It begins with a history of the discovery of South Georgia, and follows the arrival of American and British vessels in late eighteenth century. It follows a similar pattern in the Falklands history, where sealing excursions declined during European and American wars, only to return with vigor from 1810 onwards - devastating seal stocks by the 1820s. The South Georgian sealing industry continued to decline during the nineteenth century, with numerous failed excursions recorded. In counterbalance to this, the South Shetland Islands saw a rise in sealing. A rise in sealing occurred during the brief sea fur boom of the 1860s and 1870s, where the chapter concludes.