Nantucket, a Wampanoag word meaning "far-away island," was
first settled by Europeans in 1659. The earliest settlers, known as
the "Proprietors," envisioned a community of farmers and shepherds,
but the island found its fortune as a preeminent whaling port in the
late 18th and early 19th centuries. During its time under Quaker
influence, Nantucket was a cosmopolitan and dynamic place; radical
new ideas, like abolitionism and women's rights, found fertile ground
in the Quakers' firm belief in equality. As the entrance to the harbor
became impassible, Nantucket...