by W. Clark Russell
William Dampier was indeed, a man of many parts; buccaneer (a polite term for pirate), zoologist, botanist and, perhaps most of all, a superb navigator. His own narrative of his voyage (A New Voyage Around the World) firmly established him as a man to whom future adventurers and explorers would return to for reference, time and time again. His zoologogical and botanical observations were found to be most useful to the trade and science of the time, and his navigational notes, while not perfect, were singularly good for the time and used by such worthies as Lord Anson in his own voyage around the world. W. Clark Russell, one of the most noted and valued authors of the nineteenth century and renowned for his sea novels, here takes on the task of drawing a more detailed portrait of Dampier than we can gather from Dampier's own narrative. Also, Dampier's story of his voyage around the world is largely concerned with his early voyages and does not cover the other voyages in which he later took part after his return to England, twelve years after he started. Russell also fills in the sketchy details provided by Dampier about his early life in Jamaica and Hispaniola and describes in good detail the "Roebuck" voyage, the "St. George" voyage and the last voyage with Woodes Rogers. There is a wealth of detail in this small title, and Russell, with his usual meticulous craftsmanship, provides us with some highly interesting detail on the voyages of the day. The ideal companion to Dampier's own story.
HOME PAGE
