The whale ship Essex, set sail from Nantucket in 1819 on a whaling expedition. In 1820, the ship was struck by a large sperm whale in the Pacific Ocean, causing it to sink. The crew, stranded thousands of miles from land, were left to drift in small whaleboats with limited supplies. After weeks at sea, the survivors faced starvation, dehydration, and extreme hardship. Some resorted to cannibalism to stay alive. The factual timeline of the Essex voyage, the whale attack, and the grim aftermath connects directly to the creation of the novel Moby Dick.

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