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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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New Guinea Birds

July 2010

Captain William Kidd

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Captain Kidd on His Ship

July 2010

This ivory sculpture from Point Barrow, Alaska, represents Kikámigo, a guardian spirit, holding a whale in each hand.

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Inupiat Guardian Spirit

January 2010

During whale hunts, this carved whale box stored harpoon blades like the three shown beside it.

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Inupiat Harpoon Box

January 2010

Pirates divide up the riches they plundered. Most pirates abided by their own codes of conduct, and life aboard pirate ships was more democratic than that on naval ships of the time. Watch a slide show about legendary pirates from the Golden Age of Pirates.

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Pyle's "The Sacking of Panama"

July 2010

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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More Australian Plants

July 2010

Blackbeard may have been the most notorious pirate of all. Fierce and ferocious-looking, he stood 6’4” tall and had wild eyes and an explosive temper. To add to the effect, he tucked slow-burning cannon fuses under his hat.

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Portrait of Blackbeard

July 2010

Close-up of a 17th century painting shows how whales were brought ashore for processing and their blubber rendered into marketable oil.

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Basque Whalers

January 2010

a black and white photo of a woman holding a glass award

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Pettibone and an Award

March 2023

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 detailed sketches like these.

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Australian Plants

July 2010

North Atlantic right whales were long hunted for their baleen—the fringed plates hanging in their mouths that they use to strain the seawater for food. Baleen was used in a number of consumer products, such as corsets.

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Whale Baleen from a Dead Whale

September 2013

a wood frame dries walrus hide

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Walrus Hide

December 2020