What was the tragedy of the Essex?
What’s it about? In 1820, the whaleship Essex was sunk by a massive sperm whale in the South Pacific. Twenty crew members faced starvation and death during 90 harrowing days at sea. Essex, American whaling ship that was rammed by a sperm whale on November 20, 1820, and later sank. Although all 20 crewmen initially survived, only 8 were rescued following an arduous journey that devolved into cannibalism. The sinking inspired the climactic scene in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick (1851).