William Dampier – The Rogue Explorer Who First Circumnavigated The Earth Three Times

Captain William Dampier was a merchant seaman, an explorer, naturalist, and at times a pirate and privateer. Here we touch ever briefly on his pirating due to his overwhelming positive contributions to the world’s knowledge of everything oceanic and his incredible abilities as a ships master that somewhat soften any indiscretions he may have committed as a pirate though any crimes he committed he will have to answer for elsewhere.

William Dampier was born in Somerset England in 1651. He attended a fairly nice Boarding School as was the custom of the times having parents of some means in their time. Little exists on the background of his parents that would account for him taking to sea. He sailed on trade ships before joining The Royal Navy in 1673 and saw action against the French and Dutch. His naval career, as it was, was ended by several years of illness. Upon recuperating, he spent some years mucking about in less than fruitful land ventures in the new world. In 1671 he married and immediately left on a voyage under the buccaneer, Captain Smart and yes, “Smart” was his real name. I have since wondered whether there ever a Captain Stupid and recently I realized there are quite a few out on our waters on a summer Saturday and Sunday.
Up to Dampier’s time no Captain or person of rank had ever circumnavigated the world by ship and lived to tell the tale. Magellan tried in 1519 but died in transit in a conflict with the natives of the Philippines and while his crew made it, he didn’t, but you have to give them a little credit. In 1522 Juan Sebastian Elcaho tried and in 1525 and i1536 Garcia Jofre de Loaisa tried and failed. Not to be outdone by the Spanish, Queen Elizabeth ! of England sent her sometime Paramore, pirate, adventurer, and explorer Sir Francis Drake to circumnavigate the earth and spy on the Spanish in 1577. His famous ship was called “The Golden Hind”. Sir Francis had the “Be” removed from the ships original name as he considered it an embarrassment for his ship to be called “The Golden Behind”! I would have left it. He completed the voyage in1580 becoming the first naval commander to complete a circumnavigation that he started. Then came Captain Cavendish in 1588. All these voyages were one -offs until Captain Dampier put to sea and he was a man who would not be outdone in his time.

Dampier took to sea in 1679 with the aforementioned Captain Sharp. This first circumnavigation took him to places unheard of at that time. They raided and pirated the Spanish at every opportunity. Dampier always claimed he took no part in this piracy but instead spent his time maintaining his series of journals containing vivid descriptions and drawings of the unique Flora and Fauna he found on the oceans and wherever the ship put in on an Island . On these world circling voyages he became noted as Australia’s first natural historian. He also was the first to map Australia in addition to many new islands he visited throughout this and consequential voyages, He gave us many new words we still use today such as “Chopsticks, Avocado, Bar-B-Qu, Subspecies. Mango Chutney, and Breadfruit”. He described in detail many of the exotic foods he ate such as Manatee and Pink Flamingoes which he noted that both “Tasted like chicken”. He drew many of the plants he encountered and gave a face to the inhabitants he came in contact with on these newly discovered places. In 1697 he published his elaborately illustrated “A New Voyage Round The World”. It was an instant success in England and Continental Europe. People craved to know what was beyond the borders of their own lives.For his second Circumnavigation In 1699 Dampier was given a new ship by the Admiralty, the HMS Roebuck, and he set out on another circumnavigation collecting specimens of shells, rocks, and dried plants, and logged them professionally. He ran into a bit of bad luck when the HMS Roebuck disintegrated courtesy of sea worms destroying its hull. They were marooned on an island but eventually a British East India Trade ship picked him and his crew up and the finished the Circumnavigation in another ship but finish it Dampier and his crew did. During this voyage he had the pleasure of saving a sailor marooned on an island by himself. His name was Alexander Shelkirk, the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe by Danial Defoe. Second Circumnavigation done-One more to go.
Dampier’s third Circumnavigation was on the vessel named “Duke”, This time he was not the Captain per se’ but was the Pilot in charge of navigation of which ne was intellectually well equipped to handle. 0n this voyage, as they rounded the world, the crew of “Duke” and other vessels they traded to obtain bigger and more seaworthy vessels, functioned as plunderers, privateers, and pirates and returned to the Thames river in 1711 with a fortune in booty, Yet life can be cruel and Dampier died shortly after the end of the voyage> It is claimed that he never had time to receive his share of the treasure . Why should the rest of the crew split the spoils with a dead man therefore his wife ended up living in poverty.
I hate to talk ill of the dead but I would be remiss not to note that Dampier in many ways was a rogue. He was in sea adventuring for monetary gain. As he sailed the Pacific and Indian oceans he was not beyond capturing native populations and selling them into the slave markets and in Europe as curiosities and entertainment.
However, Dampier did leave an impressive legacy. He was the first mariner to contribute new discoveries he made in the area of Navigation. He assembled important data on Ocean currents, tides, wind, from across the seven seas. His works influenced the works of future Oceanographers and Naturalists such as Alexander Von Humboldt, Charles Darwin and the trade and military fleets of the worlds colonial powers into the end of the 19th Century. It is interesting to note that 19th century Poet, Samuel Coleridge used him as an Inspiration for his heroic poem “The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner”
Which at 80 years old, I have now become!