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Jul 7 2010 - 12:22pm
In 1697, aboard his ship Adventure Galley, Kidd captured his largest prize ever—a richly loaded Moorish ship, The Quedah Merchant. Kidd assumed the ship was a legitimate prize. But when its French papers were not found, Kidd was put on trial in London for piracy and found guilty. His tarred body...
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Jul 6 2010 - 5:06pm
This is the cover of the book William Dampier -- pirate and naturalist -- wrote about his first trip around the world, one of four that he eventually made and described in a series of bestselling books. Read more about this out-of-the-ordinary pirate!
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Jul 9 2010 - 1:41pm
The arrows show the direction of ocean currents recorded by William Dampier while crossing “La Grande Mer du Sud”—the Pacific Ocean. The map appeared in Dampier’s second book, Voyages and Descriptions, published in early 1699.
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Jul 27 2010 - 6:04pm
Charles Darwin: Almost 150 years after Dampier visited the Galapagos Islands, Charles Darwin brought Dampier’s books with him on his famous voyage to South America on The Beagle—the journey that led to his formulation of the theory of
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Jul 9 2010 - 12:10pm
As soon as Dampier set foot in Australia, he began making observations and collecting specimens of plants, which he carefully pressed between the pages of books to be studied by the “ingenious” and “curious” upon his return to England. As Dampier conducted his investigations, his artist made...
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Mar 9 2010 - 7:43pm
A student from the University of Cape Town in South Africa uses a field guide to help identify organisms during a shoreline survey at Cape Columbine.
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Jul 6 2010 - 5:52pm
Captain Kidd had a license from Lord Bellomont, the governor of New England and New York, and King William III of England to hunt down pirates and capture French ships. Read about more pirates in the Pirates of the Golden Age slideshow.
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Jul 2 2010 - 12:24pm
This 1890 painting of Charles Darwin is on display at the Turin Museum of Human Anatomy. Darwin brought William Dampier’s books with him on the voyage to South America that led to Darwin’s formulation of the theory of evolution. He called Dampier’s detailed observations “a mine” of information....
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Jul 9 2010 - 1:19pm
After leaving Australia, Dampier and his men reached the western coast of New Guinea on New Year’s Day 1700. There Dampier observed birds that he had never seen before, like the “stately land-fowl” shown here.
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Jul 6 2010 - 5:02pm
This map shows the route of pirate and naturalist William Dampier’s first voyage around the world. The journey lasted more than 12 years. Learn more about William Dampier, his voyage, and his discoveries!
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Jul 27 2010 - 3:05pm
The Final Journey…and Long-Awaited Fortune
Dampier’s third and last voyage around the globe, in 1708, was also a privateering expedition. On this trip he rescued Alexander Selkirk, a pirate who had been stranded on Juan Fernandez Island off the coast of Chile for five years.
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Jul 29 2010 - 4:31pm
This slideshow features illustrations of some of the plants and animals that William Dampier, a naturalist and pirate, observed in Australia (then known as New Holland) and New Guinea. Learn more about Dampier in the Ocean Portal article The Pirate Who Collected Plants.
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Jul 9 2010 - 12:17pm
As Dampier studied the plants he encountered in Australia, he wrote that they were “for the most part unlike any I had seen elsewhere.” In fact, nearly all the plants Dampier observed were entirely unknown to botanists at that time.
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Jul 8 2010 - 11:18am
A giant tortoise subspecies (Geochelone nigra vicina) lives on Isabela Island in the Galapagos. Cerro Azul, estimated to be about 350,000 years old, is one of six volcanoes on the island.
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Jul 13 2010 - 5:35pm
Dampier rescued Alexander Selkirk from Juan Fernandez island around 1708. Selkirk's story inspired Daniel Defoe to write Robinson Crusoe. Read a story by one of Selkirk's descendants in Smithsonian Magazine.
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Jul 13 2010 - 3:33pm
In 1699, accompanied by a shipboard artist, William Dampier conducted the first scientific investigation of the plants and animals of Australia (then known as New Holland). From there he and his crew sailed to New Guinea, where Dampier had his artist draw this bat with a four-foot wingspan and...
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Jul 27 2010 - 11:49am
CREDIT: David Clark
Observations of the New World
In between pillaging and plundering, Dampier spent every spare moment exploring the natural environment and meticulously documenting everything in sight. He was charmed by all the new animals and plants he came across. He described the...
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Jul 6 2010 - 5:20pm
A privateer was a seaman with a license from his country's government to attack enemy ships. The government usually got a share of the profits. Read more about the privateer, pirate and naturalist William Dampier.
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Jul 23 2010 - 4:15pm
The ocean was the world's highway, and ships brimming with precious cargoes plied the waters. These merchant ships were tempting targets for pirates, who prowled the seas' major trade routes in search of treasure. Ever since the first oceangoing ships set sail centuries ago, pirates have been...
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