Pirate of Exquisite Mind, A

by Diana & Michael Preston
Category: "World History - Cultural"
Pages:335
Year of Publication:2004
Date Added:07/26/2006
Date Read:06/18/2006
Notes:In the late 1600s, Dampier, an Englishman, circumnavigated the globe three separate times. The Prestons draw heavily on the books and articles Dampier published about his adventures, and they include the most mundane of details. During his time as a buccaneer, Dampier launched dozens of raids on gold-laden Spanish ships, marched through Panama's jungles and mutinied many times. What distinguished him from an ordinary pirate, as the title indicates, was his sharp eye for observation. He was the first self-made naturalist to visit the Galapagos; his sketches of the region's turtles set the stage for Darwin's future visit. He also drew detailed maps of nearly every place he visited, charts that defined Western Europe's knowledge of the Americas and the South Seas. His theories about how wind patterns affect ocean currents are still used today. Indeed, Dampier's scientific and historical legacy holds up better than his swashbuckling escapades, which, though exciting, hold slightly less novelty.
My Rating: 8

Reviews for Pirate of Exquisite Mind, A

Review - Pirate of Exquisite Mind, A

William Dampier was a young Englishman in search of adventure when he signed on as a seaman on a merchant ship to the West Indies. The trip whetted his appetite for adventure so much that a few months after returning to England and getting married, he was off again. This time he wouldn’t make it back for 12 years.

Dampier was an extraordinary observer — of plants, animals, primitive people, weather — and he was willing to do almost anything for the chance to observe. During those 12 years, he traveled around the world, transferring from ship to ship as opportunity allowed. Some of those ships were buccaneer ships. England was at war with Spain and the navy commissioned privateers to attack Spanish treasure ships. But the government of England didn’t mind too much if people attacked Spanish ships without the benefit of a commission either. Throughout battles, strandings on unexplored islands, open-sea voyages and bouts of sickness, Dampier kept and preserved a journal.

When Dampier finally made it back to England, he published two volumes of his journal. His books made travel writing popular, and he became a celebrity. He was given command of a ship of his own and set off to explore Australia. This voyage proved that Dampier was not a leader of men, but the exploration part was a raging success. There are bays, straits, islands and points of land all over Australia and New Britain with his name on them. The voyage didn’t end well — Dampier’s ship sank in the south Atlantic and he faced a court martial when he finally made it home. His third and last book covered the exploration of Australia.

In spite of his problems, Dampier was given command of two ships and sent to the Pacific to capture Spanish ships. The voyage was another flop, but it lead to his second trip around the world.

Dampier had one last voyage, when he was almost 60. He was signed on as the navigator on another adventure to capture Spanish treasure. This one actually succeeded to some degree, and Dampier would have been rich if he hadn’t died back in England before the money was divided up. The most notable event of this last voyage was the discovery on a lonely island in the South Pacific of British sailor Alexander Selkirk, stranded more than four years earlier. Selkirk had lived alone on the island and almost lost the capacity to speak. He became the basis for Robinson Crusoe.

Dampier legacy was great. He was the first to describe many animals and plants, the first to chart much of the coast of Australia and New Guinea, the first to figure out that ocean currents were caused by wind and to map those currents. He introduced several words into the English language and created new meanings for several existing words. His writings were the inspiration for some of Daniel Defoe’s books. Jonathan Swift patterned Gulliver after Dampier and based several of Gulliver’s adventures on Dampier’s. He also influenced Sir Walter Scott and Charles Darwin.

The book was well-written, as all of Diana Preston’s books are, and it was interesting throughout. I would have appreciated more quotes from Dampier’s books, and some more detail about some of his explorations, but that’s a minor complaint. If you’ve read about Cook’s voyages and enjoyed them, you’ll almost certainly enjoy this.
Back to the list