author
William Dampier
1651–1715
A sailor, explorer, and sharp-eyed observer of the natural world, he lived a life dramatic enough for adventure fiction. His voyages carried him around the globe three times and helped introduce English readers to places, plants, animals, and peoples they had never seen described so vividly.
2 Audiobooks
A Voyage to New Holland, Etc. in the Year 1699
by William Dampier
A Continuation of a Voyage to New Holland, Etc. in the Year 1699
by William Dampier
About the author
Born in Somerset in 1651, William Dampier moved through several lives at once: merchant seaman, buccaneer, navigator, naturalist, and author. He spent years at sea in the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the East Indies, building the experience that would make him one of the most remarkable travelers of his age.
He is especially remembered as the first person known to have circumnavigated the world three times and as one of the earliest Englishmen to explore parts of Australia. His voyages also took him to New Guinea and New Britain, and his detailed notes on winds, currents, coastlines, plants, and animals made his travel writing valuable far beyond the world of adventure.
Dampier wrote with unusual clarity and curiosity, and his books were widely read in Britain. Part sea story and part careful observation, they influenced later explorers and gave readers a lively picture of a rapidly expanding world.