Woodes Rogers

2013-10-22T19:42:29Z

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'''Woodes Rogers''' (c. 1679 – 15 July 1732) was an [[United Kingdom|English]] privateer, the first Royal Governor of [[the Bahamas]], and a member of the [[Templars|Templar Order]].

Rogers came from an affluent seafaring family, grew up in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poole Poole] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol Bristol], and served a marine apprenticeship to a Bristol sea captain. His father, who held shares in many ships, died when Rogers was in his mid-twenties, leaving Rogers in control of the family shipping business. In 1707, Rogers was approached by Captain [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Dampier William Dampier], who sought support for a privateering voyage against the Spanish, with whom the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Great_Britain British] were [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Spanish_Succession at war]. Rogers led the expedition, which consisted of two well-armed ships, the ''Duke'' and the ''Duchess''

, and was the captain of the ''Duke''. In three years, Rogers and his men went around the world, capturing several ships in the Pacific Ocean. En route, the expedition rescued Selkirk, finding him on Juan Fernandez Island on 1 February 1709. When the expedition returned to England in October 1711, Rogers had circumnavigated the globe, while retaining his original ships and most of his men, and the investors in the expedition doubled their money.

While the expedition made Rogers a national hero, his brother was killed and Rogers was badly wounded in fights in the Pacific. On his return, he was successfully sued by his crew on the ground they had not received their fair share of the expedition profits, and Rogers was forced into bankruptcy. He wrote of his maritime experiences in a book ''A Cruising Voyage Round the World'', which sold well, in part due to public fascination at Selkirk's rescue.

Rogers was twice appointed Governor of the Bahamas, where he succeeded in warding off threats from the Spanish, and in ridding the colony of pirates. However, his first term as governor was financially ruinous, and on his return to England, he was imprisoned for debt. During his second term as governor, Rogers died in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nassau,_Bahamas Nassau] at the age of about 53.

Rogers' tenure as governor resulted in the capture and prosecution of [[Piracy|pirates]] throughout the [[Caribbean]] region.

==References==
*''[[Assassin's Creed: The Watch]]''
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Woodes}}http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodes_Rogers
[[Category:1679 births]]
[[Category:1732 deaths]]
[[Category:Englishmen]]
[[Category:Privateers]]
[[Category:Templars]]
[[Category:Individuals]]

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Woodes Rogers