World Voyages A Cruising Voyage Round the

A Cruising Voyage Round the World - Starting 1708, Finishing October 14. 1711, circumnavigation around the world.......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.