Lucem Diffundo "We Light the World".

Seal of the City of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Additional history of New Bedford and the City Seal can be seen here.

This quote below appeared in a recent article written by the freelance writer Dan Gifford. His entire article about New Bedford and the New Bedford Whaling Museum can be seen here.

New Bedford was the heart and soul of the whaling industry. By the 1850’s, eighty percent of the over 700 whaleships in the American fleet sailed from here. The city’s motto, Lucem Diffundo, “We Light the World,” announced to visitors the importance of New Bedford’s production of whale oil and clean-burning spermaceti candles. Whaling and the international commerce it generated not only supported the nautical trades, but banks, investment houses, and insurance firms, and made New Bedford one of the richest cities in the world.

Dan Gifford is a freelance writer living in Arlington, Virginia. Recent articles of his have appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and AntiqueWeek. Dan is also the Park Expert for VacationCoach.com, where thousands of subscribers can access his advice for visiting national, state, and city parks around the world. Dan is also the founder of the Parkscapes Travel Program offered by the National Parks Conservation Association. Parkscapes is the nation's only non-profit travel program dedicated solely to showcasing our national park system.