A biographical study traces the life and career of an intrepid seaman who rises from Caribbean buccaneer beginnings to undertake multiple global voyages and command several expeditions. It combines historical background on buccaneering and seventeenth-century navigation with detailed narratives of successive circumnavigations, individual ship voyages, and a later expedition with a notable commander. The author emphasizes daily maritime life, hardships, navigational skill, natural observations made during the voyages, and closes with an assessment of the subject's character and achievements.
