Nantucket, a Wampanoag word meaning "far-away island," was <BR>first settled by Europeans in 1659. The earliest settlers, known as <BR>the "Proprietors," envisioned a community of farmers and shepherds, <BR>but the island found its fortune as a preeminent whaling port in the <BR>late 18th and early 19th centuries. During its time under Quaker <BR>influence, Nantucket was a cosmopolitan and dynamic place; radical <BR>new ideas, like abolitionism and women's rights, found fertile ground <BR>in the Quakers' firm belief in equality. As the entrance to the harbor <BR>became impassible, Nantucket lost its whaling focus and experienced a <BR>general economic decline. Ironically, this downturn and the resulting <BR>absence of new building, along with modern cultural change, became <BR>the springboard for its later revival. Nantucket was transformed into a <BR>tourist destination, an artist colony, and a summer home to the wealthy <BR>and famous, with a rich maritime heritage and a proud tradition of <BR>historic preservation.