Part 1

A CRUISING VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD

_THE SEAFARERS’ LIBRARY_ _General Editor: G.E. MANWARING, F.R.Hist.S._

A CRUISING VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD

Captain _WOODES ROGERS_

With Introduction and Notes by G.E.MANWARING, F.R.Hist.S.

WITH 8 HALF-TONE PLATES

_CASSELL AND COMPANY L^{TD.}_ _LONDON, TORONTO, MELBOURNE & SYDNEY_

_First Published in 1712 Reprinted in The Seafarers’ Library, 1928_

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FACE PAGE

Captain William Dampier _Frontispiece_ 1

Crossing the Tropic; sailors being ducked at the yard-arm 7

The track of the _Duke_ and _Dutchess_ round the world 48

The Island of Juan Fernandez, where Alexander Selkirk was found 96

Searching the ladies of Guiaquil 128

Captain Woodes Rogers, with his son and daughter, 1729 160

Woodes Rogers landing on the coast of California 208

Capture of the Acapulco Galleon off the coast of California 240

INTRODUCTION

The sea has always been the cradle of the English race, and over six hundred years ago an old chronicler wrote of our great sea tradition that “English ships visited every coast,” and that “English sailors excelled all others both in the arts of navigation and in fighting.” In this respect, the west of England has probably played a greater part in our maritime development than any other portion of the United Kingdom, and the names of her most famous seamen--Drake, Raleigh, and Hawkins among others--are now almost household words. There are, however, many other nautical celebrities among her sons, whose names deserve a more prominent place in our naval annals, and such an one is Captain Woodes Rogers. Not only does he rank as a splendid navigator and magnificent seaman, but he also filled an important rôle as a colonial administrator and governor, and was one of the pioneers in the development of our colonial empire. He is, indeed, one of the most picturesque and romantic figures of the first half of the eighteenth century, and his rescue and account of Alexander Selkirk’s privations on the uninhabited island of Juan Fernandez undoubtedly provided Defoe with materials for “Robinson Crusoe.” It is not too much to assume that had there been no Woodes Rogers, Defoe’s charming and immortal romance, which has delighted millions of readers, might never have been written.

Nevertheless, Rogers is rather an elusive personage, and the writer of the appreciative article on him in the “Dictionary of National Biography” was unable to glean any particulars of his birth, parentage, or marriage. Thanks to recent research it is now possible to supply some of these details. It is certain that his ancestors had been settled at the old seaport of Poole, Dorset, since the beginning of the sixteenth century, and among the mayors of Poole the name is prominent during the reign of Elizabeth. His great-grandfather, John Rogers of Poole, married Ann Woods, and from this union the name of Woods (afterwards spelt Woodes) Rogers was perpetuated for at least three generations, until the death of Woodes Rogers’s infant son in 1713. Woodes Rogers the second, the father of the subject of this book, was a sea-captain, born at Poole in 1650. He eventually removed to Bristol, where his family consisted of two daughters and two sons, the eldest of whom, Captain Woodes Rogers, was probably born there in 1679, but the precise date is uncertain.[1] All that we know is that Rogers, like his father, followed a sea career, and in the records of Bristol he is described as a “mariner,” from which we may assume that he was connected with the Merchant Venturers of that Port. He is probably to be identified with the Captain Rogers whom the famous navigator Captain William Dampier mentions in his “Voyages” published in 1699, as “my worthy friend,” and from whom he included three contributions in his book:[2] (i) A long letter on the African hippopotamus as he (Rogers) had seen them in the “River Natal”; (ii) A description of the trade winds from the Cape of Good Hope to the Red Sea; (iii) An account of “Natal in Africk as I received it from my ingenious friend Captain Rogers, who is lately gone to that place, and hath been there several times before.” This gives a lively account of the manners and customs of the natives, and the natural history of the country.

It is evident that at this period the Rogers family occupied a prominent position both in the industrial and social life of Bristol, and in January, 1705, the marriage of Woodes Rogers to the daughter of Admiral Sir William Whetstone, of Bristol, the Commander-in-Chief in the West Indies, took place at St. Mary Magdalen, Old Fish Street, London.[3] This marriage proved a stepping stone to Rogers’s future career, and in consequence of the union between these two old families Rogers was made a freeman of his native place, as the following entry from the city records, under the date of 16th March, 1704/5, shows:--“Woodes Rogers junior, Mariner, is admitted to the liberties of this city for that he married Sarah, daughter of Sir William Whettstone, knight.”[4]

We now come to the year 1708, in many respects the most eventful of Woodes Rogers’s career. He had long been impressed by the way in which both France and Spain monopolised the whole of the trade to the South Sea, and he determined, if possible, to remedy the evil. In 1698 M. de Beauchesne Gouin, a captain in the French navy, went there with two ships for the purpose of establishing trade, and an account of that voyage, in the shape of the commander’s “Journal” coming into the hands of Rogers, he eagerly perused and digested it. Elated by the success of Beauchesne Gouin, the French had carried on a vast trade ever since, and in one year, Rogers informs us, no less than seventeen warships and merchantmen had been sent to the South Sea. In the first year it was estimated that their ships carried home above 100 millions of dollars, or nearly 25 millions sterling, besides which they convoyed the Spanish galleons and treasure ships to and from the West Indies. By this means they had become absolute masters of all the valuable trade in those parts, and the riches thus amassed had enabled them, according to Rogers, “to carry on the war against most of the Potentates of Europe.”

This war, known as the War of the Spanish Succession, in which the forces of Great Britain, Austria, and Holland were allied against those of France and Spain, lasted from 1702 till 1713, and Rogers, as befitted a seaman of sound knowledge and wisdom, realised the truth of the old saying that he who commands the sea commands the trade. Not only did he wish to see the English take a share in this vast trade of the South Sea, but he realised that it would be a fitting opportunity to attack the enemies’ commerce there, and so by cutting off her resources it would help to shorten the war, and enrich his own country. To quote his own words “necessity has frequently put private men on noble takings.” This was indeed a noble undertaking, and in the belief that it was both necessary and profitable to undertake such an expedition, he drew up a scheme which he presented to his friends, the merchants of his native Bristol. The time was particularly opportune for such a venture, for an Act[5] had recently been passed by Parliament which marks a crucial and important point in the history of privateering. In this Act an effort was made to restore to privateering all the old spirit of adventure which permeated our sea story in the reign of Elizabeth. Previously the Crown had reserved to itself one fifth of all prizes taken by privateers; now the whole interest was transferred to the owner and crew. This Act marks the close of the period of decline, and the opening of a period of great activity. The Crown now sanctioned privateering solely for the benefit which it was hoped to derive from injury inflicted on the enemy.[6]

Under these circumstances it was only natural that the scheme which Rogers propounded should have been looked on in a most favourable light, and the expedition was duly financed and fitted out. Rogers dedicates his book to his “surviving owners,” and among them it is of particular interest to note the following:

Sir John Hawkins, Mayor of Bristol in 1701; Christopher Shuter, Mayor in 1711; James Hollidge, Mayor in 1709; Captain Freake and Thomas Clements, Sheriffs of Bristol; John Romsey, Town Clerk of Bristol, and Thomas Goldney, a leading Quaker of Bristol.[7] It will be seen from this that during the voyage (1708-11) the whole of the Corporation at one time or another were interested in the venture.

The money being forthcoming, two merchant ships, or “private Men of War” were fitted out. These were the _Duke_ of 320 tons, with a crew of 117 men and mounting 30 guns, and the _Dutchess_, a slightly smaller ship of 260 tons, with a crew of 108 men, and 26 guns. How these two small ships (the equivalent of a 6th-rate ship of the Royal Navy of the day, with a keel length of about 80 ft. and a breadth of about 25 ft.) helped to make history, the readers of Woodes Rogers’s “Cruising Voyage” will be able to judge. Each ship had a commission from the Lord High Admiral to wage war against the French and the Spaniards, and in order that those who sailed with him should not be forgotten Rogers has left us the names of all the officers in the two ships, and among them may be noted the following:--Captain Stephen Courtney, Commander of the _Dutchess_, “a man of birth, fortune, and of very amiable qualities,” who contributed to the expense of the voyage; Thomas Dover, second Captain of the _Duke_, President of the Council, and Captain of the Marines, whose appointment appears to have been due to his financial interest in the voyage. By profession “a Doctor of Physick,” he is remembered to posterity as the inventor of “Dover’s Powder”[8]; Captain Edward Cooke,[9] who was second to Captain Courtney, had been twice taken prisoner by the French.

The most noteworthy was undoubtedly Captain William Dampier,[10] then in his fifty-sixth year, who sailed under Rogers as “Pilot for the South Seas.” The choice was a wise one, for probably no man living had a wider experience in those waters, having been there three times before, and twice round the world. To the Spaniards his name was second only to that of Drake, a formidable asset in a voyage of this kind. That he should have consented to serve under a much younger man is sufficient testimony of the regard and esteem in which he held Woodes Rogers.

Among the officers of the _Duke_ were three lieutenants and three mates. Of the latter, John Ballet, third mate, was designated surgeon if occasion arose, he having been “Captain Dampier’s Doctor in his last unfortunate voyage round the world.” This department was further strengthened by the inclusion of Dover’s kinsman, Samuel Hopkins, an Apothecary, who was to act as Dover’s lieutenant “if we landed a party.” In addition two young lawyers, George Underhill and John Parker, were borne upon the ship’s books, “designed to act as midshipmen.” Among the officers of the _Dutchess_ under Captain Courtney, was Rogers’s young brother, John, who sailed as second-lieutenant.

The instructions given by the owners were embodied in a document, which Rogers solemnly calls the “Constitution,” which was signed and sealed at Bristol on the 14th of July, 1708. This document not only stipulated the exact powers of the various officers, but laid down a definite rule that “all attempts, attacks, and designs upon the enemy” should at first be debated by a general council of the officers, and the same applied to all “discontents, differences, or misbehaviour.” The wisdom of this procedure was apparent from the first, and Rogers states that without this method “we could never have performed the voyage.”

And so, within three weeks of the signing of the Constitution, Rogers and his merry men sailed from the King Road, near Bristol, on August the 2nd, on what proved to be one of the most successful voyages that ever left the shores of Great Britain. His crew consisted for the most part of “Tinkers, Taylors, Hay-makers, Pedlers, Fiddlers, etc.,” not forgetting John Finch “late wholesale oilman of London,” as ship’s steward, and the ship’s mascot, a fine specimen of an English bull-dog. Though the composition of the crew was Gilbertian in the extreme, its spirit, as we shall see, was in the main, Elizabethan.

“Most of us, the chief officers,” says Rogers, “embraced this trip of privateering round the world, to retrieve the losses we had sustained by the enemy,” and the opportunity soon offered itself. Proceeding down the Bristol Channel with a fair wind and bound for Cork, they saw a large ship, but after three hours’ chase lost sight of her. This was probably fortunate for Rogers, for he records that his ships were “out of trim,” and that in his own ship there were “not twenty sailors.” After several minor adventures Cork was reached on the 6th, where the provisioning of the ships was completed by Mr. Noblett Rogers, brother of one of the owners. Here Rogers succeeded in shipping some good sailors, and clearing out the useless ones, “being ordinary fellows, and not fit for our employment.” The defects in the rigging of the ships were now made good, and they were also careened and cleaned. During this enforced stay in Cork Harbour, we get a glimpse of the lighter side of a sailor’s life. Though they expected to sail immediately, the crew we are informed “were continually marrying.” Among others, Rogers tells an amusing story of a Danish seaman who married an Irish woman, “without understanding a word of each other’s language, so that they were forced to use an interpreter.” While the rest “drank their Cans of flip till the last minute” and “parted unconcerned,” the Dane “continued melancholy for several days” after the ships sailed. Sweethearts and wives were finally left behind on September 1st, when the _Duke_ and _Dutchess_ in company with about 20 merchant ships, and escorted by the _Hastings_ man-of-war, under the command of Captain Paul,[11] shaped their course for the Canary Islands.

And now having left British waters, with a “mixed gang,” as Rogers dubbed his crew, “we hope to be well manned, as soon as they have learnt the use of arms, and got their sea legs, which we doubted not soon to teach them, and bring them to discipline.” The holds of both the _Duke_ and _Dutchess_ were full of provisions; the between decks were crowded with cables, bread, and water-casks, and whereas on leaving Bristol they had only a crew of 225 all told, they now had a total of 334, so we can quite agree with Rogers when he says they were “very much crowded and pestered ships.” Under such circumstances Rogers was no doubt glad to sail under the protection of a man-of-war.

Strange as it may seem things were not so bad as Rogers thought, and after chasing a small vessel he records with evident satisfaction, that the _Duke_ and _Dutchess_ “sailed as well as any in the fleet, not excepting the man-of-war.” Prior to parting company with Captain Paul the crews were mustered in order to acquaint them with the design of the expedition, and to give an opportunity of sending home any “malcontents” in the _Hastings_. All professed themselves satisfied, excepting one poor fellow on the _Duke_, who expected to have been “the Tything-man that year in his parish,” and whose lament was that his wife “would be obliged to pay forty shillings in his absence.” However, when he saw all the rest willing, and knew the prospect of plunder, he became “easily quieted,” and in common with the others drank heartily to the success of the voyage.

Six days after leaving Cork the ships parted company with the _Hastings_, and as a farewell gift Captain Paul gave them “Scrubbers, Iron Scrapers for our ship’s bottom, a speaking trumpet, and other things that we wanted.” By this time Rogers was beginning to get his ships into trim and all provisions, etc., properly stowed, they hitherto “having been in some confusion, as is usual in Privateers at first setting out.” Taking into consideration the length of the voyage, the different climates they would pass, and the excessive cold “going about Cape Horne,” it was resolved to stop at Madeira to replenish their slender stock of “liquor.” It was Pepys who wrote that “seamen love their bellies above anything else,” and Rogers was of the opinion that “good liquor to sailors is preferable to clothing.”

In spite of the assurances of his crew a few days earlier, a mutiny now occurred on board his ship. He and his consort had chased and overhauled a vessel flying Swedish colours, believed to be carrying contraband goods. Nothing however was found to prove her a prize, and Rogers let her go “without the least embezzlement,” for which courtesy the master gave him “two hams, and some ruff-dryed beef,” and the compliment was returned with “a dozen bottles of red-streak Cyder.” This much incensed the crews of the _Duke_ and _Dutchess_ who had no idea of the perils of privateering without the sweets of plunder, and under the leadership of the boatswain of the _Duke_ several of them mutinied. The situation looked ugly, but Rogers, who was a born commander, quickly quelled it, putting ten of the mutineers in irons, while the boatswain, “the most dangerous fellow,” was shipped in the _Crown_ galley, then in company, to be carried to Madeira in irons. Five days later the prisoners were “discharged from their irons,” upon their humble submission and strict promises for their future good behaviour.

Contrary to arrangements it was decided to pass by Madeira, there being “little wind,” and to “cruise a little among the Canary Islands for liquor.” On the 18th of September they chased and captured a small Spanish bark with forty-five passengers on board, who were relieved when they found that their captors were English and not Turks. Among them were four friars, one of whom, “a good honest fellow,” Rogers and his officers made “heartily merry, drinking King Charles III’s health”: the rest he tersely records “were of the wrong sort.”

The prize was carried into Oratava, where after some delay, and a threatened bombardment of the town, the Spaniards eventually ransomed her. The transaction, however, seemed to have ended to Rogers’s satisfaction, and his ships sailed away “well stocked with liquor, the better able to endure the cold when we get the length of Cape Horn.” On the 25th of September the ships passed the “tropick,” when according to the ritual of the sea, the fresh-water sailors were ducked from the yard-arm, or forced to pay a fine of half a crown.

The next place of call was the Cape Verde Islands and on the last day of September the two ships dropped anchor in the harbour of St. Vincent. Here they wooded and watered, and their casks, which had been oil casks, were hauled ashore, burnt and cleaned--the water in them having “stunk insufferably.” By bartering with the inhabitants they were also able to obtain fresh provisions in the shape of “Cattel, Goats, Hogs, Fowls, Melons, Potatoes, Limes, Brandy, Tobacco, Indian Corn, etc.” Here Rogers had the misfortune to lose one of his crew, Joseph Alexander “a good linguist,” who had been sent ashore with a respectful letter to the Governor. This man seems to have found life more attractive on the island than the uncertainties and hardships of life aboard a privateer. After waiting a week for him Rogers reluctantly came to the conclusion that he had deserted, and “it was unanimously agreed, that we had better leave him behind, than to wait with two ships for one man that had not followed his orders.”

Rogers was extremely scrupulous in all his undertakings; everything relating to the proceedings of his squadron and the affairs of both officers and men was carefully recorded in his journal. On the eve of sailing from the Bay of St. Vincent a council was held on board the _Dutchess_ “to prevent embezzlement in prizes, and to hinder feuds and disorders amongst our officers and men for the future.” An agreement was arrived at whereby each man was to have the following shares in the plunder. A sailor or landsman, £10; any officer below the Carpenter, £20; a Mate, Gunner, Boatswain, and Carpenter, £40; a Lieutenant or Master, £80; And the Captains £100 over and above the gratuity promised by the owners to such as shall signalise themselves.” It was also agreed that both Rogers and Courtney should have 5 per cent. over and above their respective shares, and that a reward of twenty pieces-of-eight would be given “to him that first sees a prize of good value, or exceeding 50 tons in burden.” This was signed by the officers and men of both ships on the 8th of October.

On the same day the ships weighed and steered for the coast of Brazil. By this time the men had found their sea legs and were more amenable to discipline, and only one act of insubordination is recorded on the voyage to Brazil.

The spiritual needs of the men were not neglected, and it is pleasing to note that from the 28th of October, when the ships crossed the line, “prayers were read in both ships, morning or evening, as opportunity would permit, according to the Church of England.[12] On the 19th of November they made the coast of Brazil, anchoring off the Island of Grande. The opportunity was now taken to replenish the water casks, and careen the ships. The depredations of the French corsairs had made the Brazilians suspicious of strangers, and Rogers states that his boat was fired on several times when trying to land “with a present for the Governor of Angre de Reys.” On learning that they were English, Rogers and his men were welcomed by the Friars and the Governor, who treated them “very handsomely.” Rogers’s account of a religious procession in which he and his men, assisted by the ships’ band, took part, is one of the most amusing episodes in his book. Another amusing incident was an attempt by two Irish sailors to desert, but they were so frightened by the monkeys and baboons in the woods, that they were glad to return to the ship. In the afternoon of December 3rd, the ships bade adieu to the hospitalities of the island of Grande, and commenced their long and arduous voyage to Juan Fernandez, a distance of nearly 6,000 miles.