Fictional Character Biography
Nothing concerning his past is revealed in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, except his reason to hate the countries of the world: the apparent loss of his family at some point in the past.
In The Mysterious Island, Captain Nemo reveals himself to be Prince Dakkar, son of the Hindu Raja of the Kingdom of Bundelkund in India, and also a descendant of the Muslim Sultan Fateh Ali Tipu of the Kingdom of Mysore in India. The latter famously fought a series of wars with the British.
He is deeply antagonistic to the British Empire, due to its conquest of India. After the Indian Rebellion of 1857, in which he lost his family and his kingdom, he devoted himself to scientific research and developed an advanced submarine, the Nautilus. He and a crew of his followers cruise the seas, battling injustice, especially imperialism. They gather bullion from various shipwrecks in the oceans, most notably the wrecks of the Spanish treasure fleet in Bay of Vigo, sunk during the Battle of Vigo Bay.
He claims to have no interest in the affairs of the world above, but occasionally intervenes to aid the oppressed, such as by giving salvaged treasure to Cretans who are revolting against their Turkish rulers and by saving (both physically and financially) a Ceylonese or Tamil pearl hunter who was the unfortunate victim of a diving accident, or by saving the castaways from drowning in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and covertly watching over the castaways in The Mysterious Island.
Like many actual Indian princes of the era, Nemo had a European or English education, as he states that he had spent his youth studying and touring Europe. In his first meeting with Professor Aronnax and his companions, they speak to him in French, English, Latin and German; Nemo later reveals that he is fluent in all of them.
Aronnax goes on to comment that Nemo's French was perfect and unaccented and relies on his intuition and knowledge of ethnology to assess that he was from southern latitudes. However, he was unable to determine the country of his origin. The Nautilus's library and art collection reveal him to be familiar with European culture and arts. Further, he was an accomplished player of the organ.
He is said to have died of old age, on board the Nautilus, at Dakkar Grotto on Lincoln Island in the South Pacific. The last rites were administered by Cyrus Smith, one of the castaways on the island who had been saved by Nemo himself, and the vessel was then submerged in the waters of the grotto.
Read more about this topic: Captain Nemo
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