A PRIVATEER'S VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD

In 1719, Captain George Shelvocke, a poverty-stricken former Royal Navy officer, was appointed to command the Speedwell, a ship sent to prey on the Spanish in the Pacific. Off Chile, his ship was wrecked in the Juan Fernandez Islands. Undaunted, he built another vessel and eventually returned
to England, via Macao, loaded with Spanish plunder. Back home he was arrested for piracy and defrauding his shareholders. His account is a fastmoving, incident-packed tale exposing
the world of 18th-century privateers.

George Shelvocke entered the Navy at fifteen and rose to second lieutenant. At the end of the wars with France and Spain he found himself on half pay and became a privateer.