Mary Celeste Research Paper
The case of the Mary Celeste:
The Source and Cause of its Popularity
History 1100
Professor Engelman
April 8, 2012
p. 1 The Mary Celeste is a name that will never be forgotten in America. The story behind this popular derelict is so famous that almost everyone knows it. What makes the case of the Mary Celeste so interesting however is that it is not a story. The Mary Celeste is a real life tragedy that has puzzled everyone throughout the centuries; it remains an unsolved mystery to this day. There have been many possible explanations as to why the crew of this brigantine suddenly disappeared. Some of these explanations are logical while others reach the depths of the human imagination. The sure thing is that it is useless to seek for an answer now that almost more than three centuries have passed by. As the centuries get farther from the time of the Mary Celeste, it becomes harder to almost impossible to solve this popular mystery. One thing that writers and historians have overlooked however is its popularity. In the 18th century derelicts were extremely common. This leads to the question as to why the Mary Celeste became so popular when it was an occurrence just like the rest. The Mary Celeste became popular because all the solutions introduced to this mystery remain implausible, and empathy and superstitions were used to draw the general public to this case.
Was the alcohol theory implausible? There have been thousands of theories regarding the Mary Celeste. People of all sorts have tried to shed some light into this mystery. The alcohol theory has always been the most popularly common belief throughout the centuries. The theory goes that the crew members either consumed the alcohol or that the brigantine was overcome by the fumes created from a minor explosion. This explosion would have created a
The Source and Cause of its Popularity
History 1100
Professor Engelman
April 8, 2012
p. 1 The Mary Celeste is a name that will never be forgotten in America. The story behind this popular derelict is so famous that almost everyone knows it. What makes the case of the Mary Celeste so interesting however is that it is not a story. The Mary Celeste is a real life tragedy that has puzzled everyone throughout the centuries; it remains an unsolved mystery to this day. There have been many possible explanations as to why the crew of this brigantine suddenly disappeared. Some of these explanations are logical while others reach the depths of the human imagination. The sure thing is that it is useless to seek for an answer now that almost more than three centuries have passed by. As the centuries get farther from the time of the Mary Celeste, it becomes harder to almost impossible to solve this popular mystery. One thing that writers and historians have overlooked however is its popularity. In the 18th century derelicts were extremely common. This leads to the question as to why the Mary Celeste became so popular when it was an occurrence just like the rest. The Mary Celeste became popular because all the solutions introduced to this mystery remain implausible, and empathy and superstitions were used to draw the general public to this case.
Was the alcohol theory implausible? There have been thousands of theories regarding the Mary Celeste. People of all sorts have tried to shed some light into this mystery. The alcohol theory has always been the most popularly common belief throughout the centuries. The theory goes that the crew members either consumed the alcohol or that the brigantine was overcome by the fumes created from a minor explosion. This explosion would have created a
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