An Historical Account of All the Voyages Round the World, Performed by English Navigators

This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design. This gripping maritime chronicle follows English circumnavigators as they chase profit, survival, and glory through the most dangerous waters of the age. Beginning with the rich but perilous Manila-Acapulco trade, it shows why Spanish galleons, privateering, and the lure of the South Seas drew ambitious seamen into a world where fortune and ruin sailed side by side. At the center is a carefully organized expedition—backed by Bristol merchants and shaped by Dampier's experience—whose well-armed ships, strict articles, and hard-won discipline are tested by mutiny, desertion, punishment, and the constant strain of command. As the Duke and Dutchess push through the Canaries, Brazil, Cape Horn, and beyond, the narrative blends vivid natural description with shipboard drama, naval combat, diplomatic uncertainty, and the raw realities of thirst, storms, and exhaustion. It also delivers one of seafaring literature's most unforgettable encounters: the rescue of Alexander Selkirk from years of solitary survival on Juan Fernandez. With storms, skirmishes, feasts, and hard bargaining, this account captures the perilous, often brutal life of early eighteenth-century privateering and exploration.