Jens Jacob Eschels (12 December 1757 – 7 June 1842) was a nautical

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and is the author of the oldest known captain's autobiography in German.

Life

Eschels, a great-great-grandchild of whaling captain

Matthias Petersen Matthias Petersen (born Matz Peters; 24 December 1632, in Oldsum – 16 September 1706) was a sea captain and whaler from Oldsum on the North Frisian island of Föhr. He became known for catching 373 whales throughout his career. Life He was born ...

, was born in

Nieblum Nieblum (Fering: ''Njiblem'', Danish: ''Niblum'') is a municipality on the island of Föhr, in the district of Nordfriesland, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Geography Nieblum is located on the southern shore of Föhr, approximately halfways betw ...

on the

North Frisia North Frisia (; ; ) is the northernmost portion of Frisia, located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany between the rivers Eider and Wiedau. It also includes the North Frisian Islands and Heligoland. The region is traditionally inhabited by the North ...

n island of

Föhr Föhr ( ''Fering'' North Frisian: ''Feer''; da, Før) is one of the North Frisian Islands on the German coast of the North Sea. It is part of the Nordfriesland district in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. Föhr is the second-largest No ...

, where many seafarers of the early

modern era The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

came from. He was the son of a penniless family; his father often sailed "before the mast" for the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

. In 1769, aged eleven, Eschels joined the crew of an

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

whaler A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales. Terminology The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...

as a deck boy, repeatedly lost his ship in the Arctic, but returned unharmed. Afterwards, he sailed on various Amsterdam whalers. During the winter season, he learned the "art of navigating". In 1778, Eschels changed to the less dangerous and on a long-term prospect more prosperous trade shipping. Thereby, he sailed all European seas. In 1781, he eventually crossed the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

for the first time on a journey to the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

. In

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

, he was given the chance to move to a

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

-based ship as "sub-navigator". In the next year, he was accepted as navigator on the

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...

''Henricus de Vierde''. Due to illness and death of his captain in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, he took over the post of the vessel's captain on the journey back to Europe and as such he would further command the ship on numerous journeys until 1798. Later, Eschels stayed on land as German seafaring experienced difficulties due to the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. By his journeys, he had gathered certain assets and now worked as a manufacturer of tobacco products, as merchant, shipowner and expert in nautical questions in the then Danish town of Altona (which is now a part of Hamburg, Germany). His comprehensive and enthralling autobiography was written based on diaries and ships' logs prior to 1832; originally, it was only intended for family purposes. It was published in 1835. The 355-page book not only provides a wealth of information about contemporary seafaring, but also offers a view on everyday life and thinking of the time. Eschels died in Altona in 1842.

Bibliography

* * * Reprint of the 1835 edition. *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eschels, Jens Jacob 1757 births 1842 deaths People from Nordfriesland Sea captains North Frisians Danish Frisian people Föhr