In the 19th century, no one swam in the ocean. It was considered inappropriate and an infringement on the domain of fish and other sea animals. When the march of industrialization commenced and the turn of the century with its Titanic like arrogance took to the seas, people started to view the ocean as a playground. Over the ensuing century and now 20 years into another, the ocean became another recreational venue for man. But then we became environmentally sensitive. We curtailed fishing rights, and urged the resurgence of all sorts of sea life , particularly those which are especially appetizing to sharks. So sharks, being sharks and a dangerous lot they are, have returned, courtesy of man, to claim their turf once again. We are the ones to blame. All this ecology saving stuff had a price to pay you know. And that price is we need to start swimming in backyard pools.
Even though the following book was written primarily about the New Jersey shark attacks it has info on the early 1900s and man's gravitation to the ocean,
Twelve Days of Terror by Richard G. Fernicola, M.D. is a fantastic book on the fatal 1916 New Jersey shark attacks. It has great insight into the attacks, and the people and attitudes of that time period. -Tom