Labor and Economy

Where it surfaces

• Two Years Before the Mast

  The work and economic conditions of sailors are central to the narrative from the outset.

• Ship's Duties—Tropics

  The chapter details the endless physical labor required to maintain the ship, from rigging repairs to making spun yarn, highlighting the economic realities of a sailor's life.

• IX

  The chapter details the physical labor of surf landings and hide loading, highlighting the economic realities of the hide-droghing trade and the division of labor between officers, sailors, and Sandwich Islanders.

• Southeaster and Passage Up the Coast

  The chapter details the precise work of seamanship—loosing sails, manning sheets, and picking up cables—as essential to the ship's survival and the trade economy.

• XII

  The crew's forced Sunday work and passive resistance highlight the dynamics of maritime labor, while the description of customs inspection and the absence of a Mexican working class illustrate the economic structures of California.

• XIII

  Detailed description of the trading process, the cargo's variety, and the economic dependency of California on imported goods.

• XVIII

  The hide droghing at San Juan illustrates the dangerous and physically demanding labor involved in the hide trade, central to California's economy.

• XIX

  The chapter details the hard, monotonous work of hide curing and woodcutting, contrasting it with the independence and lack of hazing compared to shipboard life.

• XX

  The crew's routine of curing hides, clearing vats, and gathering wood illustrates the relentless physical labor that underpins the hide trade.

• XXII

  The chapter details the division of labor aboard the Alert, the hide-curing process, and the economic transactions involved in the California hide trade.

• Chapter XXIII

  The crew's labor is maximized by sailing on Sundays, and the gig's duties are preferred for the variety and social opportunities they offer over cargo work.

• XXIV

  The chapter details the grueling work of hide-carrying, boat handling, and the economic pressures of collecting forty thousand hides to leave California.

• Chapter XXV

  The chapter contrasts the efficient, disciplined crew of the Alert with the slovenly, inexperienced crew of the whaleship, highlighting different labor practices and economic pressures at sea.

• Chapter XXVI

  The chapter details the hide trade, wood and water supply, and the crew's industriousness in making clothes and gear for the voyage home, reflecting the economic realities of seafaring life.

• XXIX

  The chapter focuses on the final stages of loading hides, the economic motivations behind the voyage, and the crew's labor in preparing the ship for departure, highlighting the harsh realities of maritime trade.

• Homeward Bound: Preparations and Anticipation

  The crew's work includes setting up rigging, preparing sails, and mending clothes, all driven by the economic necessity of a swift passage and the captain's demand for maximum speed.

• XXXIII

  The crew's work in preparing the ship for port—sending down sails, setting up rigging, painting—reflects the constant labor required to maintain a merchant vessel.

• XXXV

  The chapter details the extensive work required to maintain and beautify the ship, reflecting the economic pressures of merchant voyaging and the value of a ship's condition upon return.

• Concluding Chapter

  Dana discusses the economic pressures on sailors, including poor provisions, lack of sleep, and the impact of poverty on legal outcomes.

• Twenty-Four Years After

  The shift from hide-droghing and small-scale trade to a global commercial hub is highlighted, along with the fates of sailors and workers like French John and Harry Bennett.

• Endnotes

  Endnotes detail the economic aspects of sailor life, including the provision of stores by ship owners and the sailors' self-supply of utensils and tools.