This historical article contains potential spoilers forBlack Sailsseason 3.
Black Sailsis the story of the pirate war for the island of Nassau.
It includes both fictional and historical characters.
And I already know what your first question is going to be.
Who names their son Woodes?
The answer is… A guy whose name is also Woodes.
Rogers was named for his father, a shipping owner who was often absent from the family.
But the elder Rogers died only a few years later.
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Young Woodes Rogers became the owner of a prosperous shipping company in his mid-twenties.
A few years later, when his father-in-law died, he inherited further shipping interests.
Bristol is believed to have been the original home ofBlackbeard.
Its fascinating to imagine that the pirate hunter and the pirate might have known each other.
But Rogers belonged to the class, not of sailors, but of ship owners.
Dampier was a man of great experience.
Dampier was a swashbuckling figure, with a history as a privateer.
He even persuaded one to join his merchant crew.
Dampier persuaded Rogers to provide ships and financing for his next privateering adventure.
The voyage did not go well.
They ran out of alcohol.
Spanish vessels were few and far between.
What they found is not recorded, but sickness broke out among the crew shortly thereafter.
Its probably a statement about the expedition that Selkirk was named first mate to theDuchessalmost immediately.
He seems to have brought luck to the expedition.
Shortly thereafter the expedition captured two Spanish vessels, their best prize to date.
Rogers, as owner, paid the modern equivalent of nearly a million dollars in fines.
The loss of his brother depressed him.
In this one respect, however, Rogers was vindicated.
His own book,A Cruising Voyage Round the Worldwas a better seller, recouping some of his losses.
The public was especially enthralled with the story of Selkirk, which had been downplayed in the previous book.
Then came lawsuits over the disposition of the spoils.
Rogers was sued by his own crew, and lost.
He had to sell his home to pay his debts.
His wife, Sarah, became pregnant shortly after his return, but the child died in infancy.
This was the end of a marriage that was already on the rocks.
The Rogers were unable to divorce, due to the laws of the time, but they separated permanently.
Woodes Rogers had not lived up to his potential.
He put together an expedition whose ostensible purpose was to buy slaves.
Rogers was named Captain General and Governor in Chief of the Bahamas by King George I.
The pirates were not cooperative.
Most of the pirates agreed, especially since they got to keep the money.
A tropical fever carried off half of Rogers supporters.
War broke out with Spain again, and Rogers defended the colony with his own money.
London refused to answer his letters.
He was arrested for debt and spent time in jail.
When the Bahamas gained their independence from Britain in 1973, the motto was changed.
TS Rhodes is the author ofThe Pirate Empire series.
She blogs about pirates atthepirateempire.blogspot.com
