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Duke

The Bristol private ship of war, about 320 tuns and 30 guns, that carried Woodes Rogers, Thomas Dover and William Dampier round the world between 1708 and 1711, took Alexander Selkirk off Juan Fernandez and took one of the two Manila ships off California.

Launched1708, BristolToNot establishedAlso writtenthe Duke frigate (Rogers's Cruising Voyage, 1712)

The Duke was fitting out at Bristol in 1708 for a voyage round the world. No surviving paper gives the place she was built in or the year.5,4

Tonnage, guns, men

Woodes Rogers counted his own ship at about 320 tuns, thirty guns and 117 men. Edward Cooke, second captain of the Dutchess, printed the owners' agreement, which agrees on her burthen and puts thirty six guns in her. The tonnage the two men disagree about is the consort's, not hers.6,4

She weighed from King road near Bristol at about four in the afternoon of 1 August 1708 with 117 men aboard, and filled up in Ireland. Leaving Cork, Rogers had 183 aboard the Duke and 151 aboard the Dutchess, and put the sailors in the two ships together at 333, above a third of them foreigners from most nations. The holds were full of provisions, the cables and bread and water casks stowed between decks. He thought the ships "very much crouded and pester'd", not fit to engage an enemy without throwing provision and stores overboard.7,8,4

Whose ship she was

Her authority was a commission from Prince George of Denmark, then Lord High Admiral. In the South Sea the company signed an agreement to give up gaming, describing themselves in it as adventurers in a private man of war under Captain Woodes Rogers, "who has a lawful Commission from his Royal Highness Prince George Denmark". Behind that stood a group of Bristol merchants, who signed their own agreement at Bristol on 14 July 1708: John Batchelor, Christopher Shuter, James Hollidge, Thomas Goldney and Francis Rogers, the managing men, not necessarily the whole ownership.9,10

Thomas Dover, a doctor of physick, sailed as second captain, president of the ship's council and captain of the marines. William Dampier sailed as pilot for the South Seas. Stephen Courtney had the Dutchess, consort from the first day; the Marquis, a prize fitted out as a third ship, came later.4,1,11

The man on Juan Fernandez

The ships made the island on 31 January 1709. The pinnace went ashore the next day. On 2 February the Duke's boat brought off a man who had been alone there four years and four months, left by Captain Stradling in the Cinque Ports. His name was Alexander Selkirk, and he had been master of that same ship, which had last been on that coast in company with Dampier, who told Rogers this was the best man in her. Rogers signed him as a mate the same day. Cooke put it plainest: "The Duke's Boat went ashore, and found one Alexander Selkirk."12,13,1

Guayaquil and the two Manila ships

Guayaquil cost Rogers his brother. In a boat attack on a Spanish ship before the town his brother was shot through the head and died at once, and Rogers wrote straight on: "as I began this Voyage with a Resolution to go thro it, and the greatest Misfortune or Obstacle shall not deter me". The town was stormed and ransomed in April 1709. Rogers demanded 50,000 pieces of eight and settled at 30,000. The paper held the Spanish signers hostage in the custody of Dover, Rogers and Courtney until it was paid, for the city, two new ships and six barks.14,3,15

On 22 December 1709, off Cape St Lucas in California, the Duke took the smaller of the two ships out of Manila. She carried the long name of Nostra Seniora de la Incarnacion Disenganio, Sir John Pichberty commander, twenty guns and twenty patereroes, and a company printed as 193 men in one setting of the journal and 195 in another. Rogers was hit in the action, and wrote it down himself: "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 shot disabled the mizen mast, and he wrote down what he wanted to say, to prevent the loss of blood and because speaking hurt.16,2,17

They went after the other one and lost. On 26 and 27 December the Duke, the Dutchess and the Marquis engaged the bigger ship out of Manila, called the Bigonia: about 900 tuns, sixty guns of which about forty were mounted, all brass, and a company reported above 460. A committee aboard the Duke on 27 December wrote the retreat into the minutes: masts much damnified, no probability of taking her, better to secure the prize already taken. Popular histories usually say the voyage took a Manila galleon. It took one and failed at the other.18

The prize they did take was renamed at a committee on 6 January 1709/10. She became The Batchelor Frigate, after one of the Bristol owners, and it was carried by a majority of votes that Thomas Dover should command her: the same Dover who was second captain of the Duke and president of the committee. Rogers and several of his officers refused to sign, and the officers of the Dutchess and the Marquis drew a protest against them in the owners' name.19

Home, and after

She came home by Guam, Batavia and the Cape of Good Hope, then in convoy to the Texel in Holland. On 1 October 1711 she anchored in the Downs, where several of the owners came aboard and took prisoners ashore to be examined about the capture. On 14 October, at eleven in the morning, she and her consort and the prize got up to Erith, "which ends our long and fatiguing Voyage".20,4

After Erith she disappears. Whether she was sold on or broken up, no surviving paper says, and nothing of her has been found on any seabed.21

Nothing outside those two books was read for this record: no builder's certificate, no muster book, no commission, no sale entry. Her measurements, her guns and her people come from men who had money in the voyage and a reputation to print. The copy of Rogers used here is a modern reprint of his 1712 text, and its numbers drift between printings: the galleon's crew is 195 here and 193 in the earlier reading.

What the evidence does not settle

Construction

  • Duke's builder, build place and build yearConfirmed

Armament and prize complement

  • Thirty or thirty-six guns, and 193 or 195 menVery likely

Later fate

  • What became of Duke after October 1711Confirmed

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. 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
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. The voyage was fitted out by a syndicate of Bristol merchants, among them Thomas Goldney, to whom with fourteen others Rogers dedicated his book as his surviving owners. It was made by two private men of war, the Duke of about 320 tons, 30 guns and 117 men under Woodes Rogers, and the Dutchess of about 260 tons, 26 guns and 108 men under Stephen Courtney, with Edward Cooke as her second captain. Thomas Dover, a doctor of physick, sailed as second captain of the Duke and President of the ship's council, and the buccaneer and hydrographer William Dampier as pilot for the South Seas. They weighed from King road near Bristol at about four in the afternoon of 1 August 1708 and came to an anchor at Erith in the Thames on 14 October 1711. The command of the Dutchess is not open on the printed journal, which gives her to Courtney and makes Cooke her second captain; the popular attribution of the command to Cooke is an error. Confirmed Directly supported by the record. Period narrative, the commander's printed journal: Woodes Rogers, A Cruising Voyage Round the World: Begun August 1. 1708. and Finished October 14. 1711 (London, 1712), read in the Seafarers' Library reprint edited by G. E. Manwaring (London, 1928) on the Internet Archive. The dedication runs "To the Worthy Gentlemen my surviving Owners, the Worshipful Christopher Shuter Esq., Sir John Hawkins Kt., John Romsey Esq; Capt. Philip Freake, Mr. James Hollidge, Francis Rogers, Thomas Goldney, Thomas Clements, Thomas Contes, John Corsely, John Duckinfield, Richard Hawksworth, William Saunders, John Grant, Laurence Hollister, and Daniel Hickman, Merchants in Bristol." The first entry runs "1708. August 2. Yesterday about four in the Afternoon we weigh'd from King road near Bristol, on board the Duke frigate, whereof Capt. Woodes Rogers was Commander, in Consortship with the Dutches, Capt. Stephen Courtney Commander; both private Men of War... the Duke Burden about 320 Tuns, having 30 Guns and 117 Men; and the Dutches Burden about 260 Tuns by Measure, 26 Guns and 108 Men." The lists of officers give "Thomas Dover, a Doctor of Physick, second Captain, President of our Council, and Captain of the Marines", "William Dampier, Pilot for the South-Seas, who had been already three times there, and twice round the World", and, for the Dutchess, "Stephen Courtney, Captain, a Mariner; Edward Cook, second Captain". The last entry runs "Octob. 14. This Day at 11 of the Clock, we and our Consort and Prize got up to Erith, where we came to an Anchor, which ends our long and fatiguing Voyage"
  5. Where and when the Duke was built is not established in the primary sources read for this record, which record only that she was fitting out at Bristol in 1708. Confirmed Directly supported by the record. Period narrative: A Cruising Voyage Round the World: First to the South-Seas, thence to the East-Indies, and Homewards by the Cape of Good Hope (this copy the 1718 second edition, text as 1712); A Voyage to the South Sea, and Round the World, Perform'd in the Years 1708, 1709, 1710, and 1711, by the Ships Duke and Dutchess of Bristol, Volume 1
  6. Rogers gives the Duke's burthen as about 320 tuns and her armament as 30 guns; the owners' agreement printed by Edward Cooke agrees on the tonnage but gives her 36 guns, an unreconciled divergence between the two first-hand printings, while the tonnage the two accounts disagree about is the Dutchess's and not the Duke's. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A Cruising Voyage Round the World: First to the South-Seas, thence to the East-Indies, and Homewards by the Cape of Good Hope (this copy the 1718 second edition, text as 1712); A Voyage to the South Sea, and Round the World, Perform'd in the Years 1708, 1709, 1710, and 1711, by the Ships Duke and Dutchess of Bristol, Volume 1, the printed owners' agreement
  7. The Duke shipped 117 men at Bristol, and after recruiting at Cork Rogers records 183 men aboard the Duke with 151 aboard the Dutchess. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A Cruising Voyage Round the World: First to the South-Seas, thence to the East-Indies, and Homewards by the Cape of Good Hope (this copy the 1718 second edition, text as 1712)
  8. Rogers puts the complement of sailors in the two ships together at 333, above one third of them foreigners from most nations, and records that on leaving Cork the holds were full of provisions with cables, bread and water casks stowed between decks, so that the ships were very much crowded and pestered and not fit to engage an enemy without throwing provision and stores overboard. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A Cruising Voyage Round the World (Seafarers' Library edition, editorial introduction and narrative), the entries at Cork and of 1 September 1708
  9. The Duke sailed under a commission from Prince George of Denmark, then Lord High Admiral of Great Britain, and the agreement against gaming signed by her own company in the South Sea describes them as adventurers in a private man of war under Captain Woodes Rogers, who has a lawful commission from his Royal Highness Prince George Denmark. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A Voyage to the South Sea, and Round the World, Perform'd in the Years 1708, 1709, 1710, and 1711, by the Ships Duke and Dutchess of Bristol, Volume 1, printed introduction; A Cruising Voyage Round the World (Seafarers' Library edition, editorial introduction and narrative), the Agreement to prevent Gaming
  10. The venture was owned and directed by a group of Bristol merchants whose agreement is dated Bristol, July 14. 1708 and is subscribed by John Batchelor, Christopher Shuter, James Hollidge, Thomas Goldney and Francis Rogers, the managing owners named in the document rather than necessarily the whole ownership. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A Voyage to the South Sea, and Round the World, Perform'd in the Years 1708, 1709, 1710, and 1711, by the Ships Duke and Dutchess of Bristol, Volume 1, the printed owners' agreement and council constitution
  11. The Duke's consort was the Dutchess, commanded by Captain Stephen Courtney, and a third ship, the Marquis, a prize fitted out as a consort, joined the squadron later. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A Cruising Voyage Round the World: First to the South-Seas, thence to the East-Indies, and Homewards by the Cape of Good Hope (this copy the 1718 second edition, text as 1712); A Voyage to the South Sea, and Round the World, Perform'd in the Years 1708, 1709, 1710, and 1711, by the Ships Duke and Dutchess of Bristol, Volume 1
  12. The ships made Juan Fernandez on 31 January 1709, the pinnace first went ashore on 1 February, and on 2 February the Duke's boat brought Alexander Selkirk off the island, Cooke recording that the Duke's boat went ashore, and found one Alexander Selkirk. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A Cruising Voyage Round the World: First to the South-Seas, thence to the East-Indies, and Homewards by the Cape of Good Hope (this copy the 1718 second edition, text as 1712); A Voyage to the South Sea, and Round the World, Perform'd in the Years 1708, 1709, 1710, and 1711, by the Ships Duke and Dutchess of Bristol, Volume 1
  13. Selkirk had been alone on Juan Fernandez four years and four months, left there by Captain Stradling in the Cinque Ports, of which he had been master; the ship had last been on that coast in company with Dampier, who told Rogers that Selkirk was the best man in her, and Rogers agreed with him at once to have him as a mate aboard the Duke. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A Cruising Voyage Round the World: First to the South-Seas, thence to the East-Indies, and Homewards by the Cape of Good Hope (this copy the 1718 second edition, text as 1712), read for this record in A Cruising Voyage Round the World (Seafarers' Library edition, editorial introduction and narrative), the journal entry of 2 February 1709
  14. In an attack by the ships' boats on a Spanish vessel before Guayaquil, Rogers's brother was shot through the head and died at once, and Rogers set down in the same entry that he had begun the voyage with a resolution to go through it and that the greatest misfortune or obstacle should not deter him. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A Cruising Voyage Round the World (Seafarers' Library edition, editorial introduction and narrative), the journal under the heading Sailing towards Guiaquil, in the entry preceding that of 16 April 1709
  15. The written ransom agreement for Guayaquil bound the Spanish signers to remain hostages in the custody of Captains Thomas Dover, Woodes Rogers and Stephen Courtney until 30000 pieces of eight should be paid for the city, two new ships and six barks, with no hostility to be committed on either side meanwhile. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A Cruising Voyage Round the World (Seafarers' Library edition, editorial introduction and narrative), the English ransom agreement printed under 27 April 1709 Old Style
  16. On 22 December 1709, cruising off Cape St Lucas in California, the Duke took the smaller of the two Manila ships, named in Rogers's journal Nostra Seniora de la Incarnacion Disenganio, Sir John Pichberty commander, with 20 guns and 20 patereroes; her complement stands at 193 men in one printing and 195 in the reprint read for this record. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A Cruising Voyage Round the World: First to the South-Seas, thence to the East-Indies, and Homewards by the Cape of Good Hope (this copy the 1718 second edition, text as 1712); A Cruising Voyage Round the World (Seafarers' Library edition, editorial introduction and narrative), the journal entry of 22 December 1709
  17. A shot disabled the Duke's mizen mast in the same action, and Rogers records that he was forced to write down what he would say, to prevent the loss of blood and because of the pain speaking gave him. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A Cruising Voyage Round the World (Seafarers' Library edition, editorial introduction and narrative), the journal entry of 22 December 1709
  18. On 26 and 27 December 1709 the Duke, the Dutchess and the Marquis engaged the larger Manila ship, named in Rogers's journal the Bigonia, of about 900 tuns and carrying 60 guns of which about 40 were mounted, all brass, with a company reported to be above 460; she was not taken, and a committee held aboard the Duke on 27 December resolved that the masts were much damnified, that there was no probability of taking her, and that they would secure the prize already taken. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A Cruising Voyage Round the World: First to the South-Seas, thence to the East-Indies, and Homewards by the Cape of Good Hope (this copy the 1718 second edition, text as 1712); A Cruising Voyage Round the World (Seafarers' Library edition, editorial introduction and narrative), the journal and the committee minute of 27 December 1709
  19. At a committee of 6 January 1709/10 the captured galleon was named by the company The Batchelor Frigate, after the owner John Batchelor, and it was carried by majority of votes that Captain Thomas Dover, who came out second captain of the Duke and sat as president of the committee, should command her; Rogers and several of his officers refused to sign, and the officers of the Dutchess and the Marquis entered a protest against the refusal in the owners' name. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A Cruising Voyage Round the World: First to the South-Seas, thence to the East-Indies, and Homewards by the Cape of Good Hope (this copy the 1718 second edition, text as 1712); A Cruising Voyage Round the World (Seafarers' Library edition, editorial introduction and narrative), the protest signed 9 January 1709-10 reciting the committee of 6 January 1709-10
  20. The Duke returned by way of Guam, Batavia and the Cape of Good Hope and then north about in convoy to the Texel in Holland, anchored in the Downs on 1 October 1711, where several of the owners came aboard and took prisoners ashore to be examined about the capture, and got up to Erith at eleven in the morning of 14 October, which ended the voyage. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A Cruising Voyage Round the World: First to the South-Seas, thence to the East-Indies, and Homewards by the Cape of Good Hope (this copy the 1718 second edition, text as 1712); A Cruising Voyage Round the World (Seafarers' Library edition, editorial introduction and narrative), the closing entries of the journal
  21. The ultimate fate and disposal of the Duke's hull after the voyage ended in 1711 is not established in the primary sources read for this record, and no physical or archaeological remains of the vessel have been identified. Confirmed Directly supported by the record. Period narrative: A Cruising Voyage Round the World: First to the South-Seas, thence to the East-Indies, and Homewards by the Cape of Good Hope (this copy the 1718 second edition, text as 1712); A Voyage to the South Sea, and Round the World, Perform'd in the Years 1708, 1709, 1710, and 1711, by the Ships Duke and Dutchess of Bristol, Volume 1