# Jens Jacob Eschels
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{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Short description|Nautical captain (1757–1842)}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Jens Jacob Eschels
|image = EschWikix.jpg
|caption =
|birth_date = 12 December 1757
|birth_place = [Nieblum](/source/Nieblum), Denmark (now Germany)
|death_date = {{death date and age|1842|6|7|1757|12|12|df=yes}}
|death_place = [Altona](/source/Hamburg-Altona), [Duchy of Holstein](/source/Duchy_of_Holstein)
|other_names =
|known_for = The first German captain's autobiography
|occupation = Nautical captain
|nationality =
|relatives = [Matthias Petersen](/source/Matthias_Petersen) (great-great-grandfather)
}}
'''Jens Jacob Eschels''' (12 December 1757 – 7 June 1842) was a nautical [captain](/source/Captain_(nautical)) and is the author of the oldest known captain's autobiography in German.
==Life==
Eschels, a great-great-grandchild of whaling captain [Matthias Petersen](/source/Matthias_Petersen),[Eschels, J. J. (1983), ''Lebensbeschreibung...'', p. 3.] was born in [Nieblum](/source/Nieblum) on the [North Frisia](/source/North_Frisia)n island of [Föhr](/source/F%C3%B6hr), where many seafarers of the early [modern era](/source/modern_era) came from.
He was the son of a penniless family; his father often sailed "before the mast" for the [Dutch East India Company](/source/Dutch_East_India_Company). In 1769, aged eleven, Eschels joined the crew of an [Amsterdam](/source/Amsterdam) [whaler](/source/whaler) 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, in the long term, more prosperous trade shipping. He sailed all European seas. In 1781, he eventually crossed the [Atlantic Ocean](/source/Atlantic_Ocean) for the first time on a journey to the [Caribbean](/source/Caribbean). In [Grenada](/source/Grenada), he was given the chance to move to a [Hamburg](/source/Hamburg)-based ship as "sub-navigator". In the next year, he was accepted as navigator on the [barque](/source/barque) ''Henricus de Vierde''. Due to illness and death of his captain in [Haiti](/source/Haiti), 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](/source/Napoleonic_Wars). By his journeys, he had gathered certain assets{{clarify|date=June 2025}} and now worked as a manufacturer of tobacco products, as merchant, shipowner and expert in nautical questions in the then Danish town of [Altona](/source/Altona%2C_Hamburg) (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.[{{cite journal|journal=The Northern Mariner|first=Jaap|last=Bruijn|title=Jens Jacob Eschels, ''Lebensbeschreibung eines alten Seemannes: Von ihm selbst und zunächst für seine Familie geschrieben''|volume=XVI|year=2006|issue=3 |pages=76–77 |url=http://www.cnrs-scrn.org/northern_mariner/vol16/tnm_16_3_57-105.pdf}}]
==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last=Eschels|first=Jens Jacob|title=Lebensbeschreibung eines alten Seemannes: Von ihm selbst und zunächst für seine Familie geschrieben [Biography of an old Seafarer: Written by Himself primarily for his Family]|year=1835 |language=German}}
*{{cite book|editor-first=Ulla |editor-last=Leippe |title=Das abenteuerliche Leben des Jens Jacob Eschels aus Nieblum auf Föhr als Walfänger, Matrose, Kapitän und zuletzt als Reeder und Tabaksfabrikant in Altona von ihm selbst erzählt |language=German |location=Hamburg |publisher=Brigantine |year=1966}}
*{{cite book|title=Lebensbeschreibung eines alten Seemannes |year=1983|publisher=Husum Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft|location=Husum|language=German|isbn=3-88042-201-X}} Reprint of the 1835 edition.
*{{cite book|title=Lebensbeschreibung eines alten Seemannes |editor-first= Albrecht |editor-last= Sauer|year=2006|publisher=Convent Verlag|location=Hamburg|language=German |isbn=978-3-86633-003-0}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eschels, Jens Jacob}}
Category:1757 births
Category:1842 deaths
Category:People from Nordfriesland
Category:Writers from Denmark–Norway
Category:Sea captains
Category:North Frisians
Category:Danish Frisian people
Category:Föhr
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Jens Jacob Eschels](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jens_Jacob_Eschels) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jens_Jacob_Eschels?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.