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3rd September 1956: A London Zoo worker cleans the teeth of ‘Moby Dick’, which formed part of an exhibit on whales. One of Moby Dick’s inspirations ? the true to life sinking of the Nantucket ship Essex in 1820 ? is a story that?s steeped in horrific events like starvation, cannibalism and the crew slowly driven mad by their tragic circumstances. (Photo : Fox Photos/Getty Images)
Whaling, Human Sacrifice and the True Story of ?Moby-Dick?
On the morning of November 20, 1820, in the Pacific Ocean, an enraged sperm whale rammed the Nantucket whaler Essex. As the boat began to sink, her crew of twenty?had time only to collect some bread and water before pulling away in three frail open boats. Without charts, alone on the open seas, and thousands of miles from any known land, the sailors began their terrifying journey of survival. Ninety days later, after much suffering and death by starvation, intense heat, and dehydration, only eight men survived to reach land. One of them was Owen Chase, first mate of the ill-fated ship, whose account of the long and perilous journey has become a classic of endurance and human courage. The elements of his tale inspired Herman Melville (who was born the year the Essex sank) to write the classic Moby Dick.
In its day, word of the ill-fated voyage created a kind of tidal wave of horror, passing from ship to ship and shore to shore. The tale so haunted whaling circles that Melville, already familiar with the story, was intrigued when a shipmate, on a long ocean journey, pulled a book from his sea chest. It was a chronicle of the disaster written by the sailor?s father, Owen Chase, the first mate on the Essex. ?The reading of this wondrous story upon the landless sea,? Melville later wrote, ?had a surprising effect upon me.? Chase?s memoir would go on to serve as the basis for the climax of Melville?s 1851 novel, Moby-Dick.