Home > Two Years Before the Mast

— from Two Years Before the Mast, Chapter VI

Two Years Before the Mast was written by the American author Richard Henry Dana, Jr. after a two-year sea voyage starting in 1834.

While at Harvard College Dana had an attack of the measles which affected his sight. Thinking it might help his sight, rather than going on a Grand Tour of Europe (and unable to afford it anyway), and something of a non-conformist, in 1834 he left Harvard to enlist as a common sailor on a voyage around Cape Horn, on the brig Pilgrim He returned to Massachusetts two years later.

He kept a diary, after the trip writing a recognized American classic Two Years Before the Mast, published in 1840.

The term Before the Mast refers to the quarters of the common sailors -- in the forecastle, in the front of the ship. His writing evidences his later social feeling for the oppressed; he later became a prominent anti- slavery activist and helped found the Free Soil Party.

It is of note that he did not set out to write Two Years Before the Mast as a sea adventure, but to highlight how poorly common sailors were treated on ships. It quickly became a best seller.

In the book, he gives a vivid account of the life of a common sailor as of 1834. A concise summary follows:

This smart upper-crust 19-year old guy at Harvard gets the measles, has trouble with his eyesight, and enlists as a common sailor in 1834, thinking it may help his vision. In cramped quarters, eating salt beef and crackers, he sails from BostonAlternate meanings: Boston (disambiguation Old State House in Boston is surrounded by tall buildings of the 19th and 20th centuries. Boston is the capital and largest city in Massachusetts in the United States. It is the unofficial capital of the region k, around Cape Horn, to a remote MexicanThis article is about the country Mexico. For other meanings, see Mexico (disambiguation The United Mexican States or Mexico ( Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos or Mexico regarding the use of the variant spelling Mejico see section The name below) is a co-controlled place almost no one even thought of at the time called CaliforniaCalifornia is a state located in the western United States, bordering the Pacific Ocean. The most populous and third largest state in the U. California is both physically and demographically diverse. The state's official nickname is "The Golden State", wh. He sees other sailors brutally flogged by the captain, vowing revenge, drops by on Robinson Crusoe'sRobinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published in 1719 and sometimes regarded as the First novel in English. The book is a fictional autobiography of Crusoe, the eponymous hero, a castaway on a remote island. Its full title is The Life and St island, sees California when San DiegoSan Diego is a city located in the southwestern corner of the state of California (and thus in the southwestern corner of the continental United States). It is the county seat of San Diego County, California. The city is noted for its temperate climate an, Los AngelesThis article is about the city in California. For other uses of 'Los Angeles' see Los Angeles (disambiguation The City of Los Angeles widely known by its abbreviation L. is a large coastal metropolis in Southern California in the western United States., and San FranciscoFor other meanings, see San Francisco (disambiguation). Bay Bridge. In the distance is fog covering the western third of the city. Click for additional information The City and County of San Francisco (population 776,773), the fourth-largest city in the s weren't much more than a few sheds, making a tellingly accurate prediction of San Francisco's future, learns SpanishThis article is about the international language known as Spanish. For other languages spoken in Spain see Languages of Spain Spanish is an Iberian Romance language, and the third or fourth most spoken language in the world. It is spoken as a first langua and becomes an interpreter, notes many sociological details, describes the scenery, carries heavy cow hides on his head, befriends a Kanaka (a native of modern-day Hawaii), later saving his life when his racist captain would as soon see him die, and sails back around Cape Horn in the middle of the Antarctic winter describing terrifying storms and incredible beauty, giving vivid descriptions of icebergs, some on his ship later coming down with scurvy. His face burnt black, he lands back at Harvard, going on to become a renowned lawyer and anti-slavery activist.

After the California Gold Rush of 1849, he re-visits California, commenting on the drastic changes and seeing several old friends.

That describes the things in a nutshell, though in the book details like his anti-slavery activism are not mentioned.

The copyright has long expired on this work, and it is available for free on the Internet in numerous locations.

You may purchase the book on the Internet at (BooksEnthsiast.com); many different editions are available.