# The Captain — The Innocents Abroad character guide

> The Captain in The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain.

**Role:** minor

**Also known as:** the captain, The Captain

**First appearance:** 0004-ii

## Who they are

The captain of the Quaker City ship.

## In the story

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/chapters/iii)

Referenced as Captain Bursley, the executive officer and sailing master, who warns the narrator about the spyglass.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/chapters/iii)

Referenced as Captain L—, the owner of the ship, who scolds the narrator for whittling the railing.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/chapters/iii)

Referenced as Captain Jones, the chief mate, who takes the sextant from the narrator.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/chapters/iv)

Referenced in the context of ship timekeeping and navigation.

### [Summer in Mid-Atlantic—An eccentric moon—Mr. Blucher loses confidence—The mystery of 'ship time'—The denizens of the deep—'Land hoh'—The first landing on a foreign shore—Sensation among the natives—Something about the Azores Islands—Blucher's disastrous dinner—The happy result.](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/chapters/v)

Explains the mystery of ship time to Mr. Blucher.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/chapters/ix)

Mentioned in context of the Quaker City's departure from Gibraltar.

### [Genoa the Superb](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/chapters/xvii)

The executive officer ordered the men ashore to fight the British.

### [XXXII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/chapters/xxxii)

Commands the ship during the blockade-running and return.

### [XXXVII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/chapters/xxxvii)

Implied presence as part of the ship's company, though not explicitly named in the excerpt.

### [XXXVIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/chapters/xxxviii)

Mentioned in the context of the ship's watches and the sailors' burlesque.

### [XLI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/chapters/xli)

Implied as part of the ship's company, though not directly named in the excerpt.

### [Going Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/chapters/lix)

Mentioned as the captain whose boat was used to go ashore at Malaga.

### [The Valedictory](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/chapters/lxi)

Mentioned as receiving fulsome compliments in the valedictory article.

### [Conclusion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/chapters/conclusion)

Mentioned as the captain of the Quaker City; the narrator would be glad to sail with him again.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/characters/captain
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_innocents_abroad_se/characters