MARY CELESTE

by Giorgia Gagliardi and Letizia Mariano

The mistery of Mary Celeste

2001

1885

1872

1861

Mary Celeste Story

MutinyDrunkenness Piracy

Explosion

Seaquake

Mary Celeste Theories

Monuments

Novels

Films and series

ConanDoyle

Mary Celeste in popular culture

Quiz

Three of her captains died soon after taking command of the ship.

The Mary Celeste was built in 1861 by Joshua Devis, in Nova Scotia. At first she was named Amazon.

The Amazon

It was believed that the crew drank all the alcohol, killed Briggs and his family, and damaged the ship to make it look like they were forced to leave.

Drunkenness

Someone believed that there was a mutiny among the crew, who killed the tyrannical captain and his family.

Mutiny

Piracy

One reporter suggested that maybe Mary Celeste had been a victim of pirates.

Discovery

On 4 December 1872 the crew of Dei Gratia discovered a ship: the Mary Celeste. The chief mate boarded on the vessel and found an abandoned ship in a good condition. There was a lot of water in the hold and he defined Mary Celeste "a thoroughly wet mess".He found uncontaminated food, fresh water, the captain's logbook and some damaged instruments.

The consul of USA also wanted to investigate, and it was demonstrated that the "blood" was in reality rust.

Mary Celeste docked on Gibraltar, where the inquiry was held in Vice Admiral Court. John Austin visited the ship and he found a cutlass that he thought was stained with blood. The driver, who checked the hull, said that there weren't any trace of demage.

The inquiry

Seaquake

According to this theory, under the ship there was a seaquake that opened nine barrels of alcohol that leaked in the bilge. Also, because of the earthquake, the fuel of the stove on the deck moved and the fire went among the riggings. This situation scared the crew that abandoned the ship.

The insurance fraud

Mary Celeste last captain didn't earn anything from the vessel, so he tried to destroy her. He decided to destroy the ship in an insurance fraud in the Caribbean Sea, but the plan failed because Mary Celeste didn't sink. He tried to burn the ship but also in this case the vessel remained intact.

It's one of the most accreditated theory. Of the 1,701 barrels, nine were found empty. These barrels were made of red oak, which is more likely to emit vapors. The fumes of alcohol might have made Briggs fear an imminent explosion, prompting him to order the crew to leave the ship.

Explosion

The mistery of Mary Celeste 1935

Departure

The Mary Celeste docked on New York on 5 November 1872 to take a cargo of 1701 barrels of alcohol and then set sail for Genoa, Italy. On board there were the captain Briggs, his wife, his daughter and a crew of seven sailmen.

The wreck was found on August 9, 2001 during an expedition, by Clive Clusser and John Davis.

Mariners' Museum, Newport News

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Monuments

Spencer's Island, Nova Scotia

His story influenced public opinion, with the consequence of misunderstanding.

In J. Habakuk Jephson's statement a story from The Captain of pole-star, Doyle exposes his theory.

Artur Conan Doyle

Novels