In the 19th and 20th centuries, global powers were in a frantic race to fill in the last unexplored spots on their maps. Each successful expedition brought with it a glow of achievement, but for every triumph, there was an equally doomed mission.
What they didn’t expect was that nature has its own rules, and on voyages of exploration, wild animals can unleash their fury on humans.
Our journey begins in the early 19th century, on the small island of Nantucket, off the coast of Massachusetts. Back then, Nantucket was more than just a dot on the map-it was the beating heart of the vast and lucrative global whaling industry.
Before the rise of petroleum as the backbone of industrial energy, whale oil was the lifeblood that powered the machines and lit the streets of emerging cities.
The vast and untamed oceans seemed to contain an inexhaustible supply of whales, sea giants whose bodies harbored the most coveted treasure of the age: valuable oil. But nature has always been and will always be superior to human greed, and it would exact its revenge.
In Nantucket Harbor, the scene was dominated by a ceaseless parade of whaling ships, setting out toward distant horizons. Among these ships was the Essex, commanded by the experienced Captain George Pollard Jr. and a crew of 20 men, all ready to venture into the dangerous South Pacific.
The Essex had already been at sea for two decades and had many profitable whaling voyages under its belt. And like so many other times, on August 12, 1819, it set sail from Nantucket again.
But from the beginning, something was in the air-a sense that this voyage, unlike the others, was destined for something dark.
After only two days at sea, and still thousands of miles from its final destination, the whaling ship Essex faced its first ordeal: a brutal storm that nearly swallowed it into the depths of the ocean. What should have been an initial smooth crossing turned into a watery nightmare.
When the storm finally subsided, the Essex was badly damaged, losing two of its five precious whaling boats. Emergency repairs were made, but a shadow of doubt hung over the crew. Was this storm a harbinger of a more cruel fate? Captain Pollard, a man of firm convictions, dismissed the crew’s concerns as mere superstition and decided to press on, ignoring the signs of a possible omen.
But storms continued to haunt the ship’s route, and the whaling-the true purpose of the voyage-proved frustrating and unsuccessful.
Weariness and disillusionment took hold of the men, and for one of them, Henry DeWitt, the mental exhaustion was unbearable. During a routine stop off the Ecuadorian coast, he did the unthinkable: deserted the ship.
As time passed, the Essex’s fortunes did not improve. The whaling grounds that had once promised plenty were now exhausted, leaving the crew in despair. In a chance encounter with other whalers, they heard of a new and plentiful hunting ground some 4,600 kilometers away, a veritable marine El Dorado. Motivated by this new hope, Captain Pollard and his crew made a bold decision: to sail to this mysterious new destination, in the hope that their fortunes would finally change.
However, along the way, the Essex needed to replenish its provisions, and the Galapagos Islands seemed the perfect place to do so. But this was no ordinary stop-there were no markets or tents waiting. Instead, the crew set out to plunder the local wildlife, capturing no fewer than 360 giant tortoises. These creatures no doubt became a convenient source of sustenance for the men, but they had a direct impact on the local fauna.
Before leaving the Galapagos Islands, an unfortunate incident would occur. A seemingly harmless prank quickly got out of hand, setting the island’s dry vegetation ablaze. What had started as a spark turned into a devastating inferno that nearly reduced the island to ashes, destroying flora and fauna and possibly extinguishing several species forever. Captain Pollard, furious, knew that the incident would only fuel suspicions that the ship was cursed, but it was too late to reconsider now, and the damage these men were causing to nature was growing more and more intense.
The missions were long, this one was scheduled to be completed in two or three years… And finally, after more than a year of sailing from Nantucket, on November 20, 1820, the Essex sighted the hunting grounds that had fueled their hopes. And this time, it seemed that luck had caught up with them. The ocean was teeming with the movement of whales; a perfect opportunity for the long-awaited hunt. They would fill the boat, and return home.
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