William Dampier

Adrian Mitchell (University of Sydney)
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William Dampier (1651-1715) grew up in East Coker, just outside Yeovil, Somerset, in the years when Oliver Cromwell established an English presence in the West Indies. Subsequently, Charles II was restored to the throne, London burned, and the Dutch carried their war against England right into the Thames estuary. East Coker was at a distance from all that. He went to a grammar school and acquired enough Latin to be able to explain in that language many years later, to a French priest in North Vietnam, how to make gunpowder. His parents died, possibly from the plague that was rife in those years, and he went to sea, to the chill fishing-banks off Newfoundland, and then to the much more acceptable climate of Indonesia on an East-Indiaman. He served on an English man o’ war (

Royal Prince

)…

1977 words

Citation: Mitchell, Adrian. "William Dampier". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 December 2007 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=1124, accessed 19 March 2024.]

1124 William Dampier 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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