Woodes Rogers

Born in Bristol around 1679, Woodes Rogers became one of the great adventure figures of the early 18th century. He is best known for leading a privateering voyage around the world from 1708 to 1711, a journey he later described in A Cruising Voyage Round the World. The expedition made him famous for both its boldness and its discipline, and it helped secure his place in maritime history.

Rogers is often linked with one of the most famous castaway stories in English literature. During his voyage, he rescued Alexander Selkirk from the island of Juan Fernández, an episode widely connected with the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe. His career later shifted from raiding at sea to governing on land, and he served as governor of the Bahamas, where he worked to restore order in Nassau during the era of Atlantic piracy.

His life was not an easy rise from one triumph to the next. Rogers faced financial trouble, political conflict, and the constant dangers of seafaring and colonial rule, yet he remained a striking figure of his age: practical, resilient, and drawn to the edges of the known world. He died in Nassau in 1732.