William Dampier, pirate, navigator and explorer
William Dampier (baptised 5 September 1651 – died
March 1715) was an English buccaneer, sea captain, author and scientific observer. He was the first
Englishman to explore or map parts of New Holland (Australia) and New Guinea. He was the first person to circumnavigate the world twice, and went on to complete a third circumnavigation.
His birthdate is not known but believe to be shortly before his baptism.
First circumnavigation
Map from "A New Voyage Round the World", published in 1697 by William Dampier, the English sea captain, naturalist, and
occasional pirate. The
Miskito coast is marked with a star. Dampier and his associate,
the surgeon and buccaneer
Lionel Wafer describe the
Miskito peoples in the period 1690-1700. These tribal groups, often mixed with runaway slaves, formed a distinct
culture in the coastal region, sometimes forming alliances with pirates against Spanish authorities in the 16th-18th
centuries.
In 1670s he crewed with buccaneers on the Spanish
Main of Central America, twice visiting the Bay
of Campeche. This led to his first circumnavigation: in 1679 he accompanied a raid across
the Isthmus of Darién in Panama and captured Spanish
ships on the Pacific coast of that isthmus; the pirates then raided Spanish settlements in
Peru before returning to the Caribbean.
Dampier made his way to Virginia, where in 1683 he engaged
with the privateer John Cook (or Cooke). Cook entered the Pacific via Cape Horn and spent a year raiding Spanish possessions in Peru, the Galapagos Islands, and Mexico. This expedition collected buccaneers
and ships as it went along, at one time having a fleet of ten vessels. In Mexico Cook died, and a new leader, Captain
Edward Davis, was elected captain by the crew. Dampier transferred to Captain
Charles Swan's ship, the Cygnet, and on 31 March
1686 they set out across the Pacific to raid the East Indies,
calling at Guam and Mindanao. Leaving Swan and 36 others behind,
the rest of the pirates sailed to Manila, Pulo Condore,
China, the Spice Islands, and New Holland (Australia).
Early in 1688 Cygnet was beached on the northwest coast of Australia, near
King Sound. While the ship was being careened Dampier made
notes on the fauna and flora he found there. Later that year, by agreement, he and two shipmates were marooned on one of the
Nicobar Islands. They built a small craft and sailed it to Acheen in Sumatra. After further adventures Dampier returned to England in
1691 via the Cape of Good Hope, penniless but in
possession of his journals.
The Roebuck expedition
Map of the area charted in HMS
Roebuck in
1699
The publication of these journals as New Voyage Round the World in 1697 created interest
at the British Admiralty and in 1699 Dampier was given the
command of HMS Roebuck with a commission to explore Australia and
New Guinea.
The expedition set out on 14 January 1699, and on 26 July
1699 he reached Dirk Hartog Island at the mouth of Shark
Bay in Western Australia. In search of water he followed the coast northeast,
reaching the Dampier Archipelago and then Roebuck Bay, but finding none he was forced to bear away north for Timor. Then he sailed east and on 3 december 1699
sighted New Guinea, which he passed to the north. Sailing east, he traced the southeastern coasts of New Hanover, New Ireland and New Britain, discovering the Dampier Strait
between these islands (now the Bismarck Islands) and New Guinea.
On the return voyage to England, Roebuck foundered near Ascension Island on
21 February 1701 and the crew were marooned there for five
weeks before being picked up on 3 April by an East
Indiaman and returned home in August 1701.
Although many papers were lost with the Roebuck, Dampier was able to save many new charts of coastlines, trade winds
and currents in the seas around Australia and New Guinea.
On his return Dampier was court-martialled for cruelty. On the outward voyage Dampier
had crewman George Fisher removed from the ship and jailed in Brazil. Fisher returned to England
and complained about his treatment to the Admirality. Dampier wrote an angry vindication of his conduct, but he was found guilty,
docked his pay for the voyage, and dismissed from the Royal Navy.
Second circumnavigation
He wrote an account of the 1699–1701 expedition, A Voyage to New Holland and returned to privateering.
The War of the Spanish Succession broke out in 1701 and English privateers were being readied to assist against French and Spanish interests. Dampier was
appointed commander of the 26-gun government ship St George, with a crew of 120 men. They were joined by the 16-gun
galleon Cinque Ports (63 men) and sailed on April 30 1703.
En-route they unsuccessfully engaged a French ship but captured three small Spaniard ships and one vessel of 550 tons.
However, the expedition was most notable for the events surrounding Alexander
Selkirk. The captain of the Cinque Ports, Thomas Stradling fell out with Sailing Master Selkirk. In October
1704 the Cinque Ports had stopped at the uninhabited Juan Fernández Islands off the coast of Chile to resupply. Selkirk
had grave concerns about the seaworthiness of Cinque Ports and after a disagreement with Dampier, he opted to remain on
the island. Selkirk was to remain marooned for four years and 4 months and his experiences were to become the inspiration for
Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe.
Selkirk's misgivings were fully justified: Cinque Ports did later sink with the loss of most of her crew.
Dampier returned to England in 1707 and in 1709 his A
Continuation of a Voyage to New Holland was published.
Third circumnavigation
Dampier was engaged in 1708 by the privateer Woodes
Rogers as sailing master on the Duke. This voyage was more successful: Selkirk was rescued on 2 February 1709, and the expedition amassed nearly £200,000 of profit. However,
Dampier died in London in 1715 before he received his
share.
Influence
Dampier influenced several figures better known than he:
Works
- A New Voyage Round the World, (1697)
- Voyages and Descriptions, (1699)
- A Supplement of the Voyage Round the World
- The Campeachy Voyages
- A Discourse of Winds
- A Voyage to New Holland, (Part 1 1703, Part 2 1709)
Further reading
- Diana and Michael Preston, A Pirate of Exquisite Mind
- Anton Gill, Devil's Mariner
- Riccardo Capoferro, Frontiere del racconto. Letteratura di viaggio e romanzo in Inghilterra, 1690-1750, Meltemi,
2007.
- Woodes Rogers, Cruising Voyage Round the World, 1712.
- Clennell Wilkinson, William Dampier, John Lane at the Bodley Head, 1929.
External links
- Works by William Dampier: facsimile scans at Early Canadiana Online, originals held by the National Library of Canada.
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