WILLIAM DAMPIER
THE LONGEST LIST OF THE LONGEST STUFF AT THE LONGEST DOMAIN NAME AT LONG LAST

Who was William Dampier?

William Dampier better known as the Old Pyrating Dog was born in 1652. At the age of 17, he worked as a deck hand on a merchant ship. He absolutely loved live on the open seas. He joined the Royal Navy in 1673; however, he became ill and had to return home.

After this time, he was land bound for a while and even married; however, this did not keep him at home. From the years of 1679 and 1681, he was a member of the crew under Captain Bartholomew Sharp. Even though England was at peace with Spain during this time, Captain Sharp along with his crew captured and destroyed 25 Spanish ships and plundered towns along the coast of South America.

In 1683, the name Dampier became known along with Captain John Cook. Under the command of Captain Cook, they sailed from Virginia to the Guinea Coast of Africa and back to South America. He stayed with Captain Cook for two years and then joined Captain Swan.

Soon Dampier was in command of his own ship in the early 1700’s. However, he was very abusive to his crew including his first lieutenant. He was not as good a captain as some might have believed. His ship the HMS Roebuck sprang a leak on his way home. When Dampier arrived home, he received a court martial and was deemed unfit to command a ship.

He did lead other expeditions including two ships. He left England in 1703 for the South Seas. Once again, Dampier was spending funds recklessly and the two ships went their separate ways, Dampier aboard the St. George. At the end of this journey, both ships were damaged and hardly any booty was given. Before anyone could say anything to Dampier, he was gone again.

Evidence into the Dampier’s command showed he mismanaged, was incompetent, and greedy. Dampier died in shortly afterwards at the age of 63.

William Dampier

 

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