Seafaring life, shipboard routine and Temperance propaganda in mid-nineteenth century American whaling communities as depicted in Francis Allyn Olmsted’s Incidents of a Whaling Voyage (1841)

Abstract

This research note is designed to shed light on seafaring life during the first half of the nineteenth century by examining a contemporary work, Incidents of a whaling voyage by F. A. Olmsted (1841). Olmsted recorded the shipboard routine of both an American whaler and a merchantman over the course of a sixteen-month voyage, resulting in a rich description of the ships and their crews. His personal conviction regarding abstinence from alcohol also provides insights into the Temperance movement in this period. The result is a unique source for the study of seafaring life and material culture in mid-nineteenth century American seafaring communities as seen through the lens of a young educated physician from Connecticut.