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Woodes Rogers

Bristol privateer, author of A Cruising Voyage Round the World, and first royal governor of the Bahamas, who broke pirate Nassau.

Bornc. 1679, PooleDied15 July 1732, NassauAlso writtenCaptain Woodes Rogers (1712 title page); Woods Rogers (his father's spelling)

Curator's note

Hogarth's portrait of Rogers and his family is the only painted likeness, and it's below from a public domain reproduction. His printed proclamation and his own published journal are the text exhibits, so where I quote him it's in his own words.

Oil painting of 1729 by William Hogarth. Woodes Rogers is seated with members of his family on a terrace, with the sea and shipping beyond.
William Hogarth, Woodes Rogers and his Family, 1729 Hogarth's family group of 1729, the only painted likeness of Rogers. The original is at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. William Hogarth, 1729. Royal Museums Greenwich, BHC2973. Public domain reproduction via Wikimedia Commons.

Rogers is the one man in this story who wore the state on his coat. He was a privateer first, then an author, then the governor sent to end pirate Nassau. He also died twice a pauper after handling two fortunes.

The name is his own, from the title page of A Cruising Voyage Round the World (London, 1712): "Captain Woodes Rogers." Woodes is a family surname worn as a forename; his father used the plainer "Woods Rogers." He carries no pirate nickname, for the good reason that he is the crown's answer to pirates and not one of them. Born at Poole in Dorset about 1679, the family moved to Bristol in the 1690s, and he married Sarah Whetstone, daughter of Rear-Admiral Sir William Whetstone, in January 1705.1

The privateer, in his own words

Backed by a syndicate of Bristol merchants, Rogers took the Duke to sea in August 1708 with the Dutchess in consort and the veteran William Dampier as pilot. The owners' Constitution, signed and sealed at Bristol on 14 July 1708, stated the object without decoration: "our grand design Being to seek out one or bothe the Ships belonging to Acapulco in South America." This was privateering under Admiralty commission in the War of the Spanish Succession, and Rogers was never charged with any crime arising from it. His acts on this voyage are a census of lawful prizes.2

Off Juan Fernandez at the end of January 1709 his boats brought off a man in goat-skins who had been alone on the island about four years and four months. This was Alexander Selkirk, late master of the Cinque Ports, made second mate of the Duke. Rogers and Edward Cooke, second captain of the Dutchess, each published the rescue in 1712, and the two accounts are the first-hand record behind the Crusoe story.

In April 1709 his landing force stormed Puna and then Guayaquil. He demanded 50,000 pieces of eight to spare the town, settled for 30,000, and marched his men back to the boats with colours flying on 27 April, the sum actually received about 25,500 in cash with some plate. A fever broke out among both crews within a week of leaving. His own account and the modern biography put the sickness down to a malignant fever already raging in Guayaquil before he arrived.4

The wound that marked his face came in December 1709, off the tip of Baja California, in the taking of the Manila galleon Nuestra Senora de la Encarnacion, which he renamed the Batchelor. He set it down plainly: "I was shot thro' the Left Cheek, the Bullet struck away great part of my upper Jaw, and several of my Teeth, part of which dropt down upon the Deck, where I fell." Days later, engaging the far larger galleon Begona, the privateers were beaten off after hours of fighting and Rogers took a second wound, part of his ankle and heel-bone carried away when a Spanish fireball burst on the quarter-deck. Months afterwards a doctor cut a lodged musket shot out of his mouth. He published the whole of it as A Cruising Voyage Round the World in 1712.3

The governor who broke pirate Nassau

He was appointed Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the Bahamas in early 1718, and the commission itself survives as The National Archives CO 5/189/019. The day is not settled: later writers give 6 January 1718, 6 February 1718 and 3 September 1717, and the Adam Matthew catalogue of the patent dates it 9 January 1717/18.13,5

Popular accounts put his arrival at Nassau on 22 or 24 July 1718; his own despatch to the Council of Trade and Plantations of 31 October 1718 says otherwise. "I arriv'd in this port 26th July in company with the men of warr ordered to assist me," naming HMS Rose, which "got in too eagerly the evening before me," and HMS Milford, with his own ship the Delicia. He found Charles Vane's company in the harbour; Vane fired a prize as a fireship and fled under the black flag the next morning. Rogers read his commission and the King's pardon in the ruined fort and set about rebuilding it, while a tropical fever through the autumn killed more than eighty of his people.12,6

The enforcement came in December. When pardoned men went back to piracy, Rogers tried the recaptured company of John Auger at Nassau on 9 and 10 December 1718. Ten men were tried. John Hipps was acquitted as a forced man. Nine were convicted, and eight of them were hanged at Nassau on 12 December 1718. George Rounsivell, one of the convicted nine, was reprieved at the gallows. The common miscount that folds Hipps's acquittal into Rounsivell's reprieve, and reports nine hanged, is wrong: it was eight.14,7

By what authority did that court sit? Rogers held vice-admiralty powers under his royal commission, and the Piracy Act of 1698 (11 William III, chapter 7) let a colonial court of at least seven commissioned men try piracy on the spot, without a jury, rather than ship the accused to England. On the face of the statute the tribunal was lawful, and no source drawn on here records its jurisdiction being challenged. The contested weight of his rule sits elsewhere, in its summary character. Captain John Hildesley reported that Rogers governed despotically, his Council "obliged to say, write and sign as he directs." That is the honest shape of the complaint against him: not a defect in the court, but the autocratic manner of a man ruling a wrecked colony under something close to martial law.

The debtors' prison paradox

Rogers handled a fortune and ended a pauper, twice. The round-the-world prizes sold for about 148,000 pounds, the Bristol pamphlet giving 147,975 pounds 12 shillings and fourpence-halfpenny. A Chancery decree of December 1712 split the proceeds two-thirds to the owners and one-third to the crews, and after costs his own share came to roughly 1,015 pounds, not enough to clear the debts run up in his absence. His bankruptcy was gazetted on 10 January 1712. The governorship ruined him a second time: he met the colony's bills out of his own pocket, received little support from London, was gazetted bankrupt again on 30 January 1724, and spent time in a debtors' prison, freed only when his creditors relented. He was granted a pension backdated to 1721 after petitioning the Crown in 1726.8

The second term and death

George II reappointed him governor by a commission of 22 October 1728. He sailed at the end of May 1729, reached Nassau on 25 August 1729, and convened the first Bahamas Assembly on 29 September 1729. A bitter quarrel with the Speaker, John Colebrooke, led him to suspend the Assembly by the end of 1730. He died at Nassau on 15 July 1732, aged about fifty-three. The Gentleman's Magazine reported the death as 16 July.15,9

The myth audit

Two things regularly attach to Rogers on tradition alone. A Latin colony motto, pirates expelled and commerce restored, is credited to his administration and later sat on the Bahamas arms, though whether it appeared on a seal of his own tenure, or was a later official adoption tied to him, remains unsettled. The story that Charles Johnson's General History of the Pyrates was dedicated to him or informed by him is tradition of the same kind: the 1724 edition carries no dedication to Rogers and no sign that he supplied it, and uses him only in its framing of the Providence settlement. William Hogarth's family portrait of 1729, "Woodes Rogers and his Family," hangs at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (BHC2973), his son holding a map of Providence Island.10

The record is good on the voyage and thin in the same places twice over: the governorship rests on calendared despatches and a modern biography, not on the trial manuscript, the commission patent or a period death notice.

What the evidence does not settle

Governor's commission date

  • Exact commission date is unresolved across four differing carrier datesLikely

Date of death

  • Death date is not settled: 15 July versus 16 July 1732Very likely
  • The 16 July variant comes from the Gentleman's Magazine

The 1713 to 1715 slaving voyage

  • A slaving voyage to Madagascar took place 1713 to 1715

Each line is one question with its own grade, taken from the register where a claim carries it. Nothing here is graded as a whole.

Sources for this record

Every statement above that rests on a checked claim carries a small number; the numbers lead here. Each entry gives what is claimed, how far the record supports it, and where it comes from.

  1. The name is his own, printed "Captain Woodes Rogers" on the title page of A Cruising Voyage Round the World (1712); Woodes is a family surname worn as a forename, his father using the spelling "Woods Rogers". Confirmed Directly supported by the record. Printed book (own title page): A Cruising Voyage Round the World (London, 1712), title page, read via the Manwaring 1928 reprint
  2. Rogers commanded the Bristol privateer Duke, with the Dutchess in consort and William Dampier as pilot, on the circumnavigation of 1708 to 1711; the owners' Constitution of 14 July 1708 states the object as "our grand design Being to seek out one or bothe the Ships belonging to Acapulco", and the expedition took Alexander Selkirk off Juan Fernandez in early February 1709. Confirmed Directly supported by the record. Printed book (own journal) and venture papers: A Cruising Voyage Round the World (1712), journal and Constitution; Cooke's rival 1712 account
  3. In the taking of the Manila galleon Nuestra Senora de la Encarnacion in December 1709, Rogers was shot through the left cheek, in his own words: "I was shot thro' the Left Cheek, the Bullet struck away great part of my upper Jaw, and several of my Teeth, part of which dropt down upon the Deck, where I fell." A second wound to the ankle and heel came days later in the failed action against the Begona. Confirmed Directly supported by the record. Printed book (own journal): A Cruising Voyage Round the World (1712), journal leaf (1712 p.294 equivalent), verified verbatim against the primary text
  4. Rogers's landing force stormed Puna and Guayaquil in April 1709 and ransomed Guayaquil, demanding 50,000 pieces of eight, agreeing 30,000 and receiving about 25,500 in cash with some plate. His own account and the modern biography attribute the fever that followed to a fever already raging in the town. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Printed book and secondary carriers: A Cruising Voyage Round the World (1712); the Bristol venture pamphlet; Cordingly biography
  5. Rogers was appointed Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the Bahamas; the commission patent survives as The National Archives CO 5/189/019. The exact date is unresolved: carriers give 6 January 1718, 6 February 1718 and 3 September 1717, and the Adam Matthew catalogue of the patent dates it 9 January 1717/18. Likely More likely than not on the evidence we have. Legal document (catalogue record): TNA CO 5/189/019, 'Commission for Woodes Rogers as Governor of Bahama Islands' (catalogue record read via Adam Matthew and TNA Discovery); the patent image not read
  6. Rogers arrived at Nassau on 26 July 1718, in his own words: "I arriv'd in this port 26th July in company with the men of warr ordered to assist me", naming HMS Rose and HMS Milford with his own ship the Delicia. The circulating 22 and 24 July dates are the fleet's approach, not his arrival in the port. Confirmed Directly supported by the record. State paper (own despatch): Rogers to the Council of Trade and Plantations, 31 October 1718, Calendar of State Papers Colonial vol 30 item 737 (manuscript CO 23/1)
  7. Rogers tried the recaptured company of John Auger at Nassau on 9 and 10 December 1718: ten men were tried, John Hipps was acquitted as a forced man, nine were convicted, eight were hanged on 12 December 1718, and George Rounsivell, one of the convicted nine, was reprieved at the gallows. The common report of nine hanged, folding Hipps's acquittal into Rounsivell's reprieve, is wrong. Confirmed Directly supported by the record. State paper enclosure: CSP Colonial vol 31 item 475 (trial copy, CO 23/1 No. 18); Cordingly biography
  8. Rogers handled two fortunes and was twice ruined. The circumnavigation prizes sold for about 148,000 pounds (the Bristol pamphlet gives 147,975 pounds 12s 4.5d), but after the Chancery decree split the proceeds two-thirds to owners and one-third to crews his personal share was only about 1,015 pounds; he was gazetted bankrupt on 10 January 1712 and again on 30 January 1724, and spent time in a debtors' prison, freed when his creditors relented. Unverified Reported, not yet checked against the record. Secondary carriers and pamphlet: Cordingly biography; the Bristol venture pamphlet; Chancery and Gazette bankruptcy records as reported
  9. George II reappointed Rogers governor by a commission of 22 October 1728; he reached Nassau on 25 August 1729, convened the first Bahamas Assembly on 29 September 1729, and died at Nassau on 15 July 1732. The Gentleman's Magazine gives 16 July. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Secondary carriers: Cordingly biography and institutional carriers; no contemporary death notice
  10. William Hogarth painted "Woodes Rogers and his Family" (1729), oil on canvas, which survives at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (Caird Collection, BHC2973); his son holds a map of Providence Island. A traditional Latin colony motto (its wording withheld until verified) and the tradition that Johnson's General History was dedicated to or informed by Rogers are unverified and are not stated as fact. Confirmed Directly supported by the record. Museum object record: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, BHC2973; motto and Johnson-dedication traditions held unverified per the brief
  11. The Lords Proprietors surrendered the government of the Bahamas to the Crown in 1717; Woodes Rogers arrived as first royal governor on 26 July 1718, about two hundred pirates took the King's pardon in the first days (a count that is Probable), and his council ordered Fort Nassau repaired from August 1718. Confirmed Directly supported by the record. State paper and secondary carriers: Rogers's despatch (CSP Colonial vol 30 item 737) for the arrival; secondary sources for the surrender and pardon numbers
  12. Woodes Rogers arrived at Nassau on 26 July 1718 as the first royal governor of the Bahamas, in company with HMS Rose and HMS Milford and his own ship Delicia, carrying the King's proclamation of pardon; his own despatch of 31 October 1718 states "I arriv'd in this port 26th July". Confirmed Directly supported by the record. Despatch: Rogers to the Council of Trade and Plantations, 31 October 1718 (Calendar of State Papers, Colonial, volume 30, item 737)
  13. Rogers' commission as Captain-General and Governor in Chief dates to early 1718, but the exact day is given inconsistently across carriers (6 January, 6 February and 3 September dates all circulate); the Archive prints "early 1718" pending the patent. Likely More likely than not on the evidence we have. Letters patent (unread): The commission patent, The National Archives, CO 5/189/019, not yet read; carriers give conflicting days
  14. The December 1718 Nassau trial of relapsed pardon-holders (John Auger, Phineas Bunce and company, retaken by Benjamin Hornigold) tried ten, convicted nine, and hanged eight on 12 December 1718; one convicted man, George Rounsivell, was reprieved at the gallows, and John Hipps was acquitted as a forced man, not reprieved. The trial and condemnations are firm from the calendared court copy; the gallows detail rests on consistent independent carriers. Unverified Reported, not yet checked against the record. Court record (calendared) and independent carriers: Calendar of State Papers, Colonial, volume 31, item 475 (CO 23/1 No. 18); gallows detail from consistent independent carriers
  15. Woodes Rogers died at Nassau on 15 July 1732, aged about fifty-three; The Gentleman's Magazine reported the death as 16 July. The Archive prints 15 July 1732, the closer colonial witness, and records the London variant. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Colonial notice and London report: Colonial notice of Rogers' death (15 July 1732); The Gentleman's Magazine (16 July report)