author

William Betagh

A firsthand voice from the age of sail, this early-18th-century marine officer wrote a vivid account of a troubled privateering voyage in the South Seas. His book stands out for its mix of seafaring drama, sharp observation, and open disagreement with the expedition’s leader.

1 Audiobook

A Voyage Round the World Being an account of a remarkable enterprize, begun in the year 1719, chiefly to cruise on the Spaniards in the great South ocean. Relating the true historical facts of that whole affair: testifyd by many imployd therein; and confirmd by authorities from the owners.

A Voyage Round the World Being an account of a remarkable enterprize, begun in the year 1719, chiefly to cruise on the Spaniards in the great South ocean. Relating the true historical facts of that whole affair: testifyd by many imployd therein; and confirmd by authorities from the owners.

by William Betagh

About the author

William Betagh was an early-18th-century British marine officer best known for A Voyage Round the World, published in 1728. On the title page he identifies himself as "Captain of Marines in that Expedition," referring to the privateering voyage that set out in 1719 to cruise against the Spanish in the South Seas.

Sources about the voyage describe him serving under George Shelvocke, and Betagh’s own book presents itself as a corrective, stressing that it tells the "true historical facts" of the expedition. That gives his writing a distinctive edge: it is not just a travel narrative, but also a personal and sometimes combative record of leadership disputes, hardship at sea, and encounters across the Pacific and South America.

Very little biographical information about Betagh apart from this voyage and book was easy to confirm. Even so, his surviving work has remained of interest because it offers a rare firsthand account of privateering, navigation, and conflict in the early 1700s.