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A Cruising Voyage Round the World: First to the South Seas, Thence to the East Indies, and Homeward by the Cape of Good Hope...Containing A Journal of All the Remarkable Transactions...An Account of Alexander Selkirk's Living Alone Four Years and Four Months on an Island.
This book would later inspire
Daniel Defoe to write the classic Robinson Crusoe. For a
detailed and fascinating description of "Alexander Selkirk: The Real
Robinson Crusoe" by James S. Bruce and Mayme S. Bruce, published in The
Explorers Journal, Spring 1993.
Defoe (1660?-1731) was among Rogers' circle of
acquaintances and accomplices that included the famous cartographer
Herman Moll (1654-1732), author Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), the
buccaneer William Dampier (1651-1715) and the field archeologist Rev.
Dr. William Stukeley (1687-1765). Dennis Reinhartz, professor of
history, writes that Defoe based Captain Singleton (1720),
on Dampier and Rogers. He also suggests that Swift modeled the title
character in Gulliver's Travels (1726) on Dampier, Rogers,
and Selkirk-Crusoe.
In A Cruzing Voyage Round the World
(1712), Rogers describes Selkirk,
"Immediately our Pinnace return’d from the shore,
and brought an abundance of Craw-fish, with a Man cloth’d in
Goat-Skins, who Look’d wilder than the first Owners of them. He had
been on the Island four years and four months, being left there by
Capt. Stradling. In the Cinque-Ports; his name was Alexander
Selkirk…
He had with him his clothes and bedding, with a
firelock, some powder, bullets and tobacco, a hatchet, a knife, a
kettle, a Bible, some practical pieces, and his mathematical
instruments and books. He diverted and provided for himself as well
as he could, but for the first eight months had to bear up against
melancholy, and the terror of being left alone in such a desolate
place. He built two huts with pimento trees, covered them with long
grass, and lined them with the skins of goats, which he killed with
his own gun as he wanted, so long as the powder lasted, which was
but a pound; and that being almost spent he got fire by rubbing two
sticks of pimento wood together upon his knee..."
Governor Woodes Rogers with his family.
(This is the
most popular depiction of Rogers appearing in The Funnel of Gold,
by Mendel L. Peterson, The History of Pirates by Angus
Konstam and several other books.)
As Konstam relates, "Here he is seen
with his family, as his son proudly holds a plan of burgeoning Port
Nassau (visible in the background). In reality, events proved less happy
for the new British acquisition."
Although - or perhaps because - his expedition was so
fabulously successful, Rogers found himself with another fight on his hands
when he returned to England.
The powerful East India Company tried to seize the
treasure on the spurious grounds that Woodes Rogers had breached their
trade monopoly in the area. Rogers' crew had to fight off the East
Indiamen, while trying to avoid press gangs eager to grab them for the
navy.The legal rows went on and the Bristol merchants only
received £50,000 from the £148,000 the treasure raised. They still doubled
their stakes.It was three years before the crew got their share, and
only then after they petitioned the House of Lords, alleging "vile and
clandestine practices" and fraud. (Bristol Times, "Tales from History,"
11/23/99
In 1717 Rogers was appointed the first royal governor of
the Bahamas and charged with ridding the islands of pirates. Originally a
base from which English government sanctioned privateers could harass the
Spanish, Nassau had become a rouge possession virtually ruled by pirates who
owed loyalty to no one. By 1700, the pirates dominated Nassau with "lawless
riot and drunken revelry" and chased off the remaining law-abiding citizenry
to exile in Great Exuma. Edward Teach, The infamous Blackbeard (Edward
Teach), took up residence in Fort Nassau and from which he toyed with the
British Royal Navy. It was into this den of wolves the British Crown sent
Rogers, a fellow privateer, to make order. The following year he arrived at
Nassau, headquarters of more than 2,000 pirates.
In his first report to the Lords Commissioners for Trade
and Plantations, Rogers described his arrival:
"...Your Lordships, I arr'ved in this Port on the 26
July last in company with the Men of Warr ordered to assist me. I met
with little opposition in coming in, but found a French ship (that was
taken by the Pirates of 22 Guns) burning in the Harbour -- which we were
told was set on Fire to drive out His Majestys Ship the Rose who got in
too early the evening before me, and cut her cable and run out in the
Night for fear of being burnt by one Charles Vane who command'd the
Pirates and at our [approach] and His Majesty's Ship -- the Milfords
near approach the next morning, they finding it impossible to escape us,
he with about ninety men fled away in a Sloop wearing the black Flag and
Fir'd guns of Defiance when they perciev'd their Sloop out Sayl'd the
Two -- that I sent to chase them hence ..."
Rogers received a group of representatives from Harbor
Island who assured him that, unlike Vane, many of the pirates were eager to
accept the King's amnesty. On the following day, as he landed, "he was
received with joy by some three hundred persons. The repentant pirates
formed a military guard of honor in two lines and fired off their muskets in
celebration." (Peterson)
Whether the greeting was friendly in fact or a false
showing, calculating that he was one of them or at the very least no match
for them, Rogers quickly consolidated his power. He selected several
trustworthy men of Harbor Island who had not been pirates, balancing them
with an equal number of his own company, to act as an organizing council. As
governor of the Bahamas Rogers exercised much authority, not the least of
which was the power of pardon. Offered the Royal pardon all but ten of the
most entrenched pirate captains accepted.. Those remaining ten, including
Blackbeard, were hunted down by Rogers' forces. Blackbeard died in a
legendary sea battle off the coast of Virginia in 1718.A risk-taker to the end, Blackbeard ignored the
warnings of his compatriots and allowed the British ship, Pearl, to trap
his vessel in a sandbar. After toasting the British commander with a mug
of rum, Blackbeard declared that he would take no quarter and be damned
if he gave any. In the hand-to-hand fight that followed, he received "5
pistol balls and 20 cutlass wounds" before he fell. The British
commander, Lieutenant Robert Maynard fought Blackbeard hand-to-hand in
the bloody battle and although he is credited with dispatching the
infamous pirate, it was actually a Scots seaman with a broadsword who
beheaded Blackbeard.
The British commander, Lieutenant Robert Maynard
fought Blackbeard hand-to-hand in
the bloody battle and although he is credited with dispatching the
infamous pirate, it was actually a Scots seaman with a broadsword who
beheaded Blackbeard. Maynard displayed Blackbeard's "glowering head on
the tip of the Pearl's bowsprit." (from the Official Site of the Bahamas
Ministry of Tourism).
None of the remaining pirates escaped, all being captured
and hanged. Nor perhaps did Woodes Rogers himself escape this life of bloody
violence; he died in Fort Nassau in 1732 of "mysterious causes."
Rogers slogan, "Piracy Expelled, Commerce Restored," (Expulsis
Piratis/Restituta Commercia) remained the national motto of the
Bahamas until independence in 1973.
A simple plaque in Queen Square, Bristol
memorializes
Woodes Rogers today beneath his statue:
Woodes Rogers 1679-1732
"Great seaman, navigator, colonial governor"
Defoe (1660?-1731) was among Rogers' circle of
acquaintances and accomplices that included the famous cartographer
Herman Moll (1654-1732), author Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), the
buccaneer William Dampier (1651-1715) and the field archeologist Rev.
Dr. William Stukeley (1687-1765). Dennis Reinhartz, professor of
history, writes that Defoe based Captain Singleton (1720),
on Dampier and Rogers. He also suggests that Swift modeled the title
character in Gulliver's Travels (1726) on Dampier, Rogers,
and Selkirk-Crusoe.
In A Cruzing Voyage Round the World
(1712), Rogers describes Selkirk,
"Immediately our Pinnace return’d from the shore,
and brought an abundance of Craw-fish, with a Man cloth’d in
Goat-Skins, who Look’d wilder than the first Owners of them. He had
been on the Island four years and four months, being left there by
Capt. Stradling. In the Cinque-Ports; his name was Alexander
Selkirk…
He had with him his clothes and bedding, with a
firelock, some powder, bullets and tobacco, a hatchet, a knife, a
kettle, a Bible, some practical pieces, and his mathematical
instruments and books. He diverted and provided for himself as well
as he could, but for the first eight months had to bear up against
melancholy, and the terror of being left alone in such a desolate
place. He built two huts with pimento trees, covered them with long
grass, and lined them with the skins of goats, which he killed with
his own gun as he wanted, so long as the powder lasted, which was
but a pound; and that being almost spent he got fire by rubbing two
sticks of pimento wood together upon his knee..."
Governor Woodes Rogers with his family.
(This is the
most popular depiction of Rogers appearing in The Funnel of Gold,
by Mendel L. Peterson, The History of Pirates by Angus
Konstam and several other books.)
As Konstam relates, "Here he is seen
with his family, as his son proudly holds a plan of burgeoning Port
Nassau (visible in the background). In reality, events proved less happy
for the new British acquisition."
Although - or perhaps because - his expedition was so
fabulously successful, Rogers found himself with another fight on his hands
when he returned to England.
The powerful East India Company tried to seize the
treasure on the spurious grounds that Woodes Rogers had breached their
trade monopoly in the area. Rogers' crew had to fight off the East
Indiamen, while trying to avoid press gangs eager to grab them for the
navy.The legal rows went on and the Bristol merchants only
received £50,000 from the £148,000 the treasure raised. They still doubled
their stakes.It was three years before the crew got their share, and
only then after they petitioned the House of Lords, alleging "vile and
clandestine practices" and fraud. (Bristol Times, "Tales from History,"
11/23/99
In 1717 Rogers was appointed the first royal governor of
the Bahamas and charged with ridding the islands of pirates. Originally a
base from which English government sanctioned privateers could harass the
Spanish, Nassau had become a rouge possession virtually ruled by pirates who
owed loyalty to no one. By 1700, the pirates dominated Nassau with "lawless
riot and drunken revelry" and chased off the remaining law-abiding citizenry
to exile in Great Exuma. Edward Teach, The infamous Blackbeard (Edward
Teach), took up residence in Fort Nassau and from which he toyed with the
British Royal Navy. It was into this den of wolves the British Crown sent
Rogers, a fellow privateer, to make order. The following year he arrived at
Nassau, headquarters of more than 2,000 pirates.
In his first report to the Lords Commissioners for Trade
and Plantations, Rogers described his arrival:
"...Your Lordships, I arr'ved in this Port on the 26
July last in company with the Men of Warr ordered to assist me. I met
with little opposition in coming in, but found a French ship (that was
taken by the Pirates of 22 Guns) burning in the Harbour -- which we were
told was set on Fire to drive out His Majestys Ship the Rose who got in
too early the evening before me, and cut her cable and run out in the
Night for fear of being burnt by one Charles Vane who command'd the
Pirates and at our [approach] and His Majesty's Ship -- the Milfords
near approach the next morning, they finding it impossible to escape us,
he with about ninety men fled away in a Sloop wearing the black Flag and
Fir'd guns of Defiance when they perciev'd their Sloop out Sayl'd the
Two -- that I sent to chase them hence ..."
Rogers received a group of representatives from Harbor
Island who assured him that, unlike Vane, many of the pirates were eager to
accept the King's amnesty. On the following day, as he landed, "he was
received with joy by some three hundred persons. The repentant pirates
formed a military guard of honor in two lines and fired off their muskets in
celebration." (Peterson)
Whether the greeting was friendly in fact or a false
showing, calculating that he was one of them or at the very least no match
for them, Rogers quickly consolidated his power. He selected several
trustworthy men of Harbor Island who had not been pirates, balancing them
with an equal number of his own company, to act as an organizing council. As
governor of the Bahamas Rogers exercised much authority, not the least of
which was the power of pardon. Offered the Royal pardon all but ten of the
most entrenched pirate captains accepted.. Those remaining ten, including
Blackbeard, were hunted down by Rogers' forces. Blackbeard died in a
legendary sea battle off the coast of Virginia in 1718.A risk-taker to the end, Blackbeard ignored the
warnings of his compatriots and allowed the British ship, Pearl, to trap
his vessel in a sandbar. After toasting the British commander with a mug
of rum, Blackbeard declared that he would take no quarter and be damned
if he gave any. In the hand-to-hand fight that followed, he received "5
pistol balls and 20 cutlass wounds" before he fell. The British
commander, Lieutenant Robert Maynard fought Blackbeard hand-to-hand in
the bloody battle and although he is credited with dispatching the
infamous pirate, it was actually a Scots seaman with a broadsword who
beheaded Blackbeard.
The British commander, Lieutenant Robert Maynard
fought Blackbeard hand-to-hand in
the bloody battle and although he is credited with dispatching the
infamous pirate, it was actually a Scots seaman with a broadsword who
beheaded Blackbeard. Maynard displayed Blackbeard's "glowering head on
the tip of the Pearl's bowsprit." (from the Official Site of the Bahamas
Ministry of Tourism).
None of the remaining pirates escaped, all being captured
and hanged. Nor perhaps did Woodes Rogers himself escape this life of bloody
violence; he died in Fort Nassau in 1732 of "mysterious causes."
Rogers slogan, "Piracy Expelled, Commerce Restored," (Expulsis
Piratis/Restituta Commercia) remained the national motto of the
Bahamas until independence in 1973.
A simple plaque in Queen Square, Bristol
memorializes
Woodes Rogers today beneath his statue:
Woodes Rogers 1679-1732
"Great seaman, navigator, colonial governor"
In A Cruzing Voyage Round the World
(1712), Rogers describes Selkirk,
"Immediately our Pinnace return’d from the shore,
and brought an abundance of Craw-fish, with a Man cloth’d in
Goat-Skins, who Look’d wilder than the first Owners of them. He had
been on the Island four years and four months, being left there by
Capt. Stradling. In the Cinque-Ports; his name was Alexander
Selkirk…
He had with him his clothes and bedding, with a
firelock, some powder, bullets and tobacco, a hatchet, a knife, a
kettle, a Bible, some practical pieces, and his mathematical
instruments and books. He diverted and provided for himself as well
as he could, but for the first eight months had to bear up against
melancholy, and the terror of being left alone in such a desolate
place. He built two huts with pimento trees, covered them with long
grass, and lined them with the skins of goats, which he killed with
his own gun as he wanted, so long as the powder lasted, which was
but a pound; and that being almost spent he got fire by rubbing two
sticks of pimento wood together upon his knee..."
"Immediately our Pinnace return’d from the shore, and brought an abundance of Craw-fish, with a Man cloth’d in Goat-Skins, who Look’d wilder than the first Owners of them. He had been on the Island four years and four months, being left there by Capt. Stradling. In the Cinque-Ports; his name was Alexander Selkirk…
He had with him his clothes and bedding, with a firelock, some powder, bullets and tobacco, a hatchet, a knife, a kettle, a Bible, some practical pieces, and his mathematical instruments and books. He diverted and provided for himself as well as he could, but for the first eight months had to bear up against melancholy, and the terror of being left alone in such a desolate place. He built two huts with pimento trees, covered them with long grass, and lined them with the skins of goats, which he killed with his own gun as he wanted, so long as the powder lasted, which was but a pound; and that being almost spent he got fire by rubbing two sticks of pimento wood together upon his knee..."
(This is the most popular depiction of Rogers appearing in The Funnel of Gold, by Mendel L. Peterson, The History of Pirates by Angus Konstam and several other books.) |
As Konstam relates, "Here he is seen with his family, as his son proudly holds a plan of burgeoning Port Nassau (visible in the background). In reality, events proved less happy for the new British acquisition." |
Although - or perhaps because - his expedition was so
fabulously successful, Rogers found himself with another fight on his hands
when he returned to England.
The powerful East India Company tried to seize the
treasure on the spurious grounds that Woodes Rogers had breached their
trade monopoly in the area. Rogers' crew had to fight off the East
Indiamen, while trying to avoid press gangs eager to grab them for the
navy.The legal rows went on and the Bristol merchants only
received £50,000 from the £148,000 the treasure raised. They still doubled
their stakes.It was three years before the crew got their share, and
only then after they petitioned the House of Lords, alleging "vile and
clandestine practices" and fraud. (Bristol Times, "Tales from History,"
11/23/99
In 1717 Rogers was appointed the first royal governor of
the Bahamas and charged with ridding the islands of pirates. Originally a
base from which English government sanctioned privateers could harass the
Spanish, Nassau had become a rouge possession virtually ruled by pirates who
owed loyalty to no one. By 1700, the pirates dominated Nassau with "lawless
riot and drunken revelry" and chased off the remaining law-abiding citizenry
to exile in Great Exuma. Edward Teach, The infamous Blackbeard (Edward
Teach), took up residence in Fort Nassau and from which he toyed with the
British Royal Navy. It was into this den of wolves the British Crown sent
Rogers, a fellow privateer, to make order. The following year he arrived at
Nassau, headquarters of more than 2,000 pirates.
In his first report to the Lords Commissioners for Trade
and Plantations, Rogers described his arrival:
"...Your Lordships, I arr'ved in this Port on the 26
July last in company with the Men of Warr ordered to assist me. I met
with little opposition in coming in, but found a French ship (that was
taken by the Pirates of 22 Guns) burning in the Harbour -- which we were
told was set on Fire to drive out His Majestys Ship the Rose who got in
too early the evening before me, and cut her cable and run out in the
Night for fear of being burnt by one Charles Vane who command'd the
Pirates and at our [approach] and His Majesty's Ship -- the Milfords
near approach the next morning, they finding it impossible to escape us,
he with about ninety men fled away in a Sloop wearing the black Flag and
Fir'd guns of Defiance when they perciev'd their Sloop out Sayl'd the
Two -- that I sent to chase them hence ..."
Rogers received a group of representatives from Harbor
Island who assured him that, unlike Vane, many of the pirates were eager to
accept the King's amnesty. On the following day, as he landed, "he was
received with joy by some three hundred persons. The repentant pirates
formed a military guard of honor in two lines and fired off their muskets in
celebration." (Peterson)
Whether the greeting was friendly in fact or a false
showing, calculating that he was one of them or at the very least no match
for them, Rogers quickly consolidated his power. He selected several
trustworthy men of Harbor Island who had not been pirates, balancing them
with an equal number of his own company, to act as an organizing council. As
governor of the Bahamas Rogers exercised much authority, not the least of
which was the power of pardon. Offered the Royal pardon all but ten of the
most entrenched pirate captains accepted.. Those remaining ten, including
Blackbeard, were hunted down by Rogers' forces. Blackbeard died in a
legendary sea battle off the coast of Virginia in 1718.A risk-taker to the end, Blackbeard ignored the
warnings of his compatriots and allowed the British ship, Pearl, to trap
his vessel in a sandbar. After toasting the British commander with a mug
of rum, Blackbeard declared that he would take no quarter and be damned
if he gave any. In the hand-to-hand fight that followed, he received "5
pistol balls and 20 cutlass wounds" before he fell. The British
commander, Lieutenant Robert Maynard fought Blackbeard hand-to-hand in
the bloody battle and although he is credited with dispatching the
infamous pirate, it was actually a Scots seaman with a broadsword who
beheaded Blackbeard.
The British commander, Lieutenant Robert Maynard
fought Blackbeard hand-to-hand in
the bloody battle and although he is credited with dispatching the
infamous pirate, it was actually a Scots seaman with a broadsword who
beheaded Blackbeard. Maynard displayed Blackbeard's "glowering head on
the tip of the Pearl's bowsprit." (from the Official Site of the Bahamas
Ministry of Tourism).
None of the remaining pirates escaped, all being captured
and hanged. Nor perhaps did Woodes Rogers himself escape this life of bloody
violence; he died in Fort Nassau in 1732 of "mysterious causes."
Rogers slogan, "Piracy Expelled, Commerce Restored," (Expulsis
Piratis/Restituta Commercia) remained the national motto of the
Bahamas until independence in 1973.
A simple plaque in Queen Square, Bristol
memorializes
Woodes Rogers today beneath his statue:
Woodes Rogers 1679-1732
"Great seaman, navigator, colonial governor"
The legal rows went on and the Bristol merchants only
received £50,000 from the £148,000 the treasure raised. They still doubled
their stakes.It was three years before the crew got their share, and
only then after they petitioned the House of Lords, alleging "vile and
clandestine practices" and fraud. (Bristol Times, "Tales from History,"
11/23/99
In 1717 Rogers was appointed the first royal governor of
the Bahamas and charged with ridding the islands of pirates. Originally a
base from which English government sanctioned privateers could harass the
Spanish, Nassau had become a rouge possession virtually ruled by pirates who
owed loyalty to no one. By 1700, the pirates dominated Nassau with "lawless
riot and drunken revelry" and chased off the remaining law-abiding citizenry
to exile in Great Exuma. Edward Teach, The infamous Blackbeard (Edward
Teach), took up residence in Fort Nassau and from which he toyed with the
British Royal Navy. It was into this den of wolves the British Crown sent
Rogers, a fellow privateer, to make order. The following year he arrived at
Nassau, headquarters of more than 2,000 pirates.
In his first report to the Lords Commissioners for Trade
and Plantations, Rogers described his arrival:
"...Your Lordships, I arr'ved in this Port on the 26
July last in company with the Men of Warr ordered to assist me. I met
with little opposition in coming in, but found a French ship (that was
taken by the Pirates of 22 Guns) burning in the Harbour -- which we were
told was set on Fire to drive out His Majestys Ship the Rose who got in
too early the evening before me, and cut her cable and run out in the
Night for fear of being burnt by one Charles Vane who command'd the
Pirates and at our [approach] and His Majesty's Ship -- the Milfords
near approach the next morning, they finding it impossible to escape us,
he with about ninety men fled away in a Sloop wearing the black Flag and
Fir'd guns of Defiance when they perciev'd their Sloop out Sayl'd the
Two -- that I sent to chase them hence ..."
Rogers received a group of representatives from Harbor
Island who assured him that, unlike Vane, many of the pirates were eager to
accept the King's amnesty. On the following day, as he landed, "he was
received with joy by some three hundred persons. The repentant pirates
formed a military guard of honor in two lines and fired off their muskets in
celebration." (Peterson)
Whether the greeting was friendly in fact or a false
showing, calculating that he was one of them or at the very least no match
for them, Rogers quickly consolidated his power. He selected several
trustworthy men of Harbor Island who had not been pirates, balancing them
with an equal number of his own company, to act as an organizing council. As
governor of the Bahamas Rogers exercised much authority, not the least of
which was the power of pardon. Offered the Royal pardon all but ten of the
most entrenched pirate captains accepted.. Those remaining ten, including
Blackbeard, were hunted down by Rogers' forces. Blackbeard died in a
legendary sea battle off the coast of Virginia in 1718.A risk-taker to the end, Blackbeard ignored the
warnings of his compatriots and allowed the British ship, Pearl, to trap
his vessel in a sandbar. After toasting the British commander with a mug
of rum, Blackbeard declared that he would take no quarter and be damned
if he gave any. In the hand-to-hand fight that followed, he received "5
pistol balls and 20 cutlass wounds" before he fell. The British
commander, Lieutenant Robert Maynard fought Blackbeard hand-to-hand in
the bloody battle and although he is credited with dispatching the
infamous pirate, it was actually a Scots seaman with a broadsword who
beheaded Blackbeard.
The British commander, Lieutenant Robert Maynard
fought Blackbeard hand-to-hand in
the bloody battle and although he is credited with dispatching the
infamous pirate, it was actually a Scots seaman with a broadsword who
beheaded Blackbeard. Maynard displayed Blackbeard's "glowering head on
the tip of the Pearl's bowsprit." (from the Official Site of the Bahamas
Ministry of Tourism).
None of the remaining pirates escaped, all being captured
and hanged. Nor perhaps did Woodes Rogers himself escape this life of bloody
violence; he died in Fort Nassau in 1732 of "mysterious causes."
Rogers slogan, "Piracy Expelled, Commerce Restored," (Expulsis
Piratis/Restituta Commercia) remained the national motto of the
Bahamas until independence in 1973.
A simple plaque in Queen Square, Bristol
memorializes
Woodes Rogers today beneath his statue:
Woodes Rogers 1679-1732
"Great seaman, navigator, colonial governor"
In 1717 Rogers was appointed the first royal governor of
the Bahamas and charged with ridding the islands of pirates. Originally a
base from which English government sanctioned privateers could harass the
Spanish, Nassau had become a rouge possession virtually ruled by pirates who
owed loyalty to no one. By 1700, the pirates dominated Nassau with "lawless
riot and drunken revelry" and chased off the remaining law-abiding citizenry
to exile in Great Exuma. Edward Teach, The infamous Blackbeard (Edward
Teach), took up residence in Fort Nassau and from which he toyed with the
British Royal Navy. It was into this den of wolves the British Crown sent
Rogers, a fellow privateer, to make order. The following year he arrived at
Nassau, headquarters of more than 2,000 pirates.
In his first report to the Lords Commissioners for Trade
and Plantations, Rogers described his arrival:
"...Your Lordships, I arr'ved in this Port on the 26
July last in company with the Men of Warr ordered to assist me. I met
with little opposition in coming in, but found a French ship (that was
taken by the Pirates of 22 Guns) burning in the Harbour -- which we were
told was set on Fire to drive out His Majestys Ship the Rose who got in
too early the evening before me, and cut her cable and run out in the
Night for fear of being burnt by one Charles Vane who command'd the
Pirates and at our [approach] and His Majesty's Ship -- the Milfords
near approach the next morning, they finding it impossible to escape us,
he with about ninety men fled away in a Sloop wearing the black Flag and
Fir'd guns of Defiance when they perciev'd their Sloop out Sayl'd the
Two -- that I sent to chase them hence ..."
Rogers received a group of representatives from Harbor
Island who assured him that, unlike Vane, many of the pirates were eager to
accept the King's amnesty. On the following day, as he landed, "he was
received with joy by some three hundred persons. The repentant pirates
formed a military guard of honor in two lines and fired off their muskets in
celebration." (Peterson)
Whether the greeting was friendly in fact or a false
showing, calculating that he was one of them or at the very least no match
for them, Rogers quickly consolidated his power. He selected several
trustworthy men of Harbor Island who had not been pirates, balancing them
with an equal number of his own company, to act as an organizing council. As
governor of the Bahamas Rogers exercised much authority, not the least of
which was the power of pardon. Offered the Royal pardon all but ten of the
most entrenched pirate captains accepted.. Those remaining ten, including
Blackbeard, were hunted down by Rogers' forces. Blackbeard died in a
legendary sea battle off the coast of Virginia in 1718.A risk-taker to the end, Blackbeard ignored the
warnings of his compatriots and allowed the British ship, Pearl, to trap
his vessel in a sandbar. After toasting the British commander with a mug
of rum, Blackbeard declared that he would take no quarter and be damned
if he gave any. In the hand-to-hand fight that followed, he received "5
pistol balls and 20 cutlass wounds" before he fell. The British
commander, Lieutenant Robert Maynard fought Blackbeard hand-to-hand in
the bloody battle and although he is credited with dispatching the
infamous pirate, it was actually a Scots seaman with a broadsword who
beheaded Blackbeard.
The British commander, Lieutenant Robert Maynard
fought Blackbeard hand-to-hand in
the bloody battle and although he is credited with dispatching the
infamous pirate, it was actually a Scots seaman with a broadsword who
beheaded Blackbeard. Maynard displayed Blackbeard's "glowering head on
the tip of the Pearl's bowsprit." (from the Official Site of the Bahamas
Ministry of Tourism).
None of the remaining pirates escaped, all being captured
and hanged. Nor perhaps did Woodes Rogers himself escape this life of bloody
violence; he died in Fort Nassau in 1732 of "mysterious causes."
Rogers slogan, "Piracy Expelled, Commerce Restored," (Expulsis
Piratis/Restituta Commercia) remained the national motto of the
Bahamas until independence in 1973.
A simple plaque in Queen Square, Bristol
memorializes
Woodes Rogers today beneath his statue:
Woodes Rogers 1679-1732
"Great seaman, navigator, colonial governor"
In his first report to the Lords Commissioners for Trade
and Plantations, Rogers described his arrival:
"...Your Lordships, I arr'ved in this Port on the 26
July last in company with the Men of Warr ordered to assist me. I met
with little opposition in coming in, but found a French ship (that was
taken by the Pirates of 22 Guns) burning in the Harbour -- which we were
told was set on Fire to drive out His Majestys Ship the Rose who got in
too early the evening before me, and cut her cable and run out in the
Night for fear of being burnt by one Charles Vane who command'd the
Pirates and at our [approach] and His Majesty's Ship -- the Milfords
near approach the next morning, they finding it impossible to escape us,
he with about ninety men fled away in a Sloop wearing the black Flag and
Fir'd guns of Defiance when they perciev'd their Sloop out Sayl'd the
Two -- that I sent to chase them hence ..."
Rogers received a group of representatives from Harbor
Island who assured him that, unlike Vane, many of the pirates were eager to
accept the King's amnesty. On the following day, as he landed, "he was
received with joy by some three hundred persons. The repentant pirates
formed a military guard of honor in two lines and fired off their muskets in
celebration." (Peterson)
Whether the greeting was friendly in fact or a false
showing, calculating that he was one of them or at the very least no match
for them, Rogers quickly consolidated his power. He selected several
trustworthy men of Harbor Island who had not been pirates, balancing them
with an equal number of his own company, to act as an organizing council. As
governor of the Bahamas Rogers exercised much authority, not the least of
which was the power of pardon. Offered the Royal pardon all but ten of the
most entrenched pirate captains accepted.. Those remaining ten, including
Blackbeard, were hunted down by Rogers' forces. Blackbeard died in a
legendary sea battle off the coast of Virginia in 1718.A risk-taker to the end, Blackbeard ignored the
warnings of his compatriots and allowed the British ship, Pearl, to trap
his vessel in a sandbar. After toasting the British commander with a mug
of rum, Blackbeard declared that he would take no quarter and be damned
if he gave any. In the hand-to-hand fight that followed, he received "5
pistol balls and 20 cutlass wounds" before he fell. The British
commander, Lieutenant Robert Maynard fought Blackbeard hand-to-hand in
the bloody battle and although he is credited with dispatching the
infamous pirate, it was actually a Scots seaman with a broadsword who
beheaded Blackbeard.
The British commander, Lieutenant Robert Maynard
fought Blackbeard hand-to-hand in
the bloody battle and although he is credited with dispatching the
infamous pirate, it was actually a Scots seaman with a broadsword who
beheaded Blackbeard. Maynard displayed Blackbeard's "glowering head on
the tip of the Pearl's bowsprit." (from the Official Site of the Bahamas
Ministry of Tourism).
None of the remaining pirates escaped, all being captured
and hanged. Nor perhaps did Woodes Rogers himself escape this life of bloody
violence; he died in Fort Nassau in 1732 of "mysterious causes."
Rogers slogan, "Piracy Expelled, Commerce Restored," (Expulsis
Piratis/Restituta Commercia) remained the national motto of the
Bahamas until independence in 1973.
A simple plaque in Queen Square, Bristol
memorializes
Woodes Rogers today beneath his statue:
Woodes Rogers 1679-1732
"Great seaman, navigator, colonial governor"
"...Your Lordships, I arr'ved in this Port on the 26 July last in company with the Men of Warr ordered to assist me. I met with little opposition in coming in, but found a French ship (that was taken by the Pirates of 22 Guns) burning in the Harbour -- which we were told was set on Fire to drive out His Majestys Ship the Rose who got in too early the evening before me, and cut her cable and run out in the Night for fear of being burnt by one Charles Vane who command'd the Pirates and at our [approach] and His Majesty's Ship -- the Milfords near approach the next morning, they finding it impossible to escape us, he with about ninety men fled away in a Sloop wearing the black Flag and Fir'd guns of Defiance when they perciev'd their Sloop out Sayl'd the Two -- that I sent to chase them hence ..."
Rogers received a group of representatives from Harbor
Island who assured him that, unlike Vane, many of the pirates were eager to
accept the King's amnesty. On the following day, as he landed, "he was
received with joy by some three hundred persons. The repentant pirates
formed a military guard of honor in two lines and fired off their muskets in
celebration." (Peterson)
Whether the greeting was friendly in fact or a false
showing, calculating that he was one of them or at the very least no match
for them, Rogers quickly consolidated his power. He selected several
trustworthy men of Harbor Island who had not been pirates, balancing them
with an equal number of his own company, to act as an organizing council. As
governor of the Bahamas Rogers exercised much authority, not the least of
which was the power of pardon. Offered the Royal pardon all but ten of the
most entrenched pirate captains accepted.. Those remaining ten, including
Blackbeard, were hunted down by Rogers' forces. Blackbeard died in a
legendary sea battle off the coast of Virginia in 1718.A risk-taker to the end, Blackbeard ignored the
warnings of his compatriots and allowed the British ship, Pearl, to trap
his vessel in a sandbar. After toasting the British commander with a mug
of rum, Blackbeard declared that he would take no quarter and be damned
if he gave any. In the hand-to-hand fight that followed, he received "5
pistol balls and 20 cutlass wounds" before he fell. The British
commander, Lieutenant Robert Maynard fought Blackbeard hand-to-hand in
the bloody battle and although he is credited with dispatching the
infamous pirate, it was actually a Scots seaman with a broadsword who
beheaded Blackbeard.
The British commander, Lieutenant Robert Maynard
fought Blackbeard hand-to-hand in
the bloody battle and although he is credited with dispatching the
infamous pirate, it was actually a Scots seaman with a broadsword who
beheaded Blackbeard. Maynard displayed Blackbeard's "glowering head on
the tip of the Pearl's bowsprit." (from the Official Site of the Bahamas
Ministry of Tourism).
None of the remaining pirates escaped, all being captured
and hanged. Nor perhaps did Woodes Rogers himself escape this life of bloody
violence; he died in Fort Nassau in 1732 of "mysterious causes."
Rogers slogan, "Piracy Expelled, Commerce Restored," (Expulsis
Piratis/Restituta Commercia) remained the national motto of the
Bahamas until independence in 1973.
A simple plaque in Queen Square, Bristol
memorializes
Woodes Rogers today beneath his statue:
Woodes Rogers 1679-1732
"Great seaman, navigator, colonial governor"
Whether the greeting was friendly in fact or a false
showing, calculating that he was one of them or at the very least no match
for them, Rogers quickly consolidated his power. He selected several
trustworthy men of Harbor Island who had not been pirates, balancing them
with an equal number of his own company, to act as an organizing council. As
governor of the Bahamas Rogers exercised much authority, not the least of
which was the power of pardon. Offered the Royal pardon all but ten of the
most entrenched pirate captains accepted.. Those remaining ten, including
Blackbeard, were hunted down by Rogers' forces. Blackbeard died in a
legendary sea battle off the coast of Virginia in 1718.A risk-taker to the end, Blackbeard ignored the
warnings of his compatriots and allowed the British ship, Pearl, to trap
his vessel in a sandbar. After toasting the British commander with a mug
of rum, Blackbeard declared that he would take no quarter and be damned
if he gave any. In the hand-to-hand fight that followed, he received "5
pistol balls and 20 cutlass wounds" before he fell. The British
commander, Lieutenant Robert Maynard fought Blackbeard hand-to-hand in
the bloody battle and although he is credited with dispatching the
infamous pirate, it was actually a Scots seaman with a broadsword who
beheaded Blackbeard.
The British commander, Lieutenant Robert Maynard
fought Blackbeard hand-to-hand in
the bloody battle and although he is credited with dispatching the
infamous pirate, it was actually a Scots seaman with a broadsword who
beheaded Blackbeard. Maynard displayed Blackbeard's "glowering head on
the tip of the Pearl's bowsprit." (from the Official Site of the Bahamas
Ministry of Tourism).
None of the remaining pirates escaped, all being captured
and hanged. Nor perhaps did Woodes Rogers himself escape this life of bloody
violence; he died in Fort Nassau in 1732 of "mysterious causes."
Rogers slogan, "Piracy Expelled, Commerce Restored," (Expulsis
Piratis/Restituta Commercia) remained the national motto of the
Bahamas until independence in 1973.
A simple plaque in Queen Square, Bristol
memorializes
Woodes Rogers today beneath his statue:
Woodes Rogers 1679-1732
"Great seaman, navigator, colonial governor"
Rogers slogan, "Piracy Expelled, Commerce Restored," (Expulsis Piratis/Restituta Commercia) remained the national motto of the Bahamas until independence in 1973.
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A simple plaque in Queen Square, Bristol
memorializes
Woodes Rogers today beneath his statue:
Woodes Rogers 1679-1732
"Great seaman, navigator, colonial governor"
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