Some Nantucket nuggets:
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The name Nantucket is derived from a Native American
word meaning “faraway island” or “land far out to
sea.” |
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Nantucket was populated with approximately 1,500 Native Americans
of the Wampanoag Tribe when it was discovered and charted in 1602
by Captain Bartholomew Gosnold. |
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The history of Nantucket's settlement by the English begins in 1659,
when Thomas Mayhew sold his interests to the “nine original
purchasers”: Tristram Coffin, Thomas Macy, Christopher Hussey,
Richard Swayne, Thomas Bernard, Peter Coffin, Stephen Greenleafe,
John Swayne, and William Pike for, “thirty pounds...and two
Beaver hats one for myself and one for my wife.” |
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Herman Melville based his novel Moby-Dick on the true and tragic
tale of the Essex. This Nantucket whaleship was whaling off the coast
of South America in 1820 when it was rammed by a whale. He received
his information from Owen Chase, a mate on the Essex who kept the
ship’s log. |
More about Nantucket:
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