A pirate narrative with considerable California interest.
"Shelvocke has the fullest account of California, the natives, and other features, of any of the old voyagers"—Cowan and Cowan
A source for Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner"
Shelvocke, Capt. George. A Voyage Round the World, By Way of the Great South Sea: Performed in a Private Expedition During the War, which Broke Out with Spain, in the Year 1718. London: Printed for W. Innys and J. Richardson, M. & T. Longman, 1757. Second edition, "revised and republished by George Shelvocke, Esq."
Octavo. [vi] 476 pages. One folding map, showing California as an island; four plates, two folding. Two of the engravings depict native Californians.
According to Cowan and Cowan (A
Bibliography of the History of California, p. 581-2), "Shelvocke has
the fullest account of California, the natives, and other features, of
any of the old voyagers. Gold-dust was discovered by the party in such
abundance, or so they claimed, that they were 'prejudiced against the
thought that this metal should be so promiscuously and universally
mingled with the common earth,' but the specimens they brought away were
lost." It is also claimed that Shelvocke's account of one of his men
shooting a black albatross off Cape Horn inspired the albatross scene in
Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner."
$3,250
Following the death of Louis XIV, in
1715, the Spanish monarch claimed the French throne, plunging Europe
into yet another war (the most recent, the War of Spanish Succession,
had ended in July 1713), with England, France, and Holland allied
against Spain's Felipe V.
As in previous wars, merchants obtained permission from the Crown
to outfit ships to attack Spanish galleons and seize their valuable
cargo, often New World gold and silver. These "privateers" were legally
sanctioned pirates. During the 1716 to 1720 war, only one privateering
expedition was commissioned to harry Spanish vessels in the Pacific: two
ships led by John Clipperton, who had previously served under the
pirate captain William Dampier. The naval lieutenant George Shelvocke
took command of the second ship, the "Speedwel", outfitted with 24 guns
and 106 men. The ships left Plymouth in February 1719.
Clipperton spent most of his time drunk, and
within a week, the two ship captains parted ways and sought their own
fortune. After a year of sailing, with virtually nothing to show for
their efforts but scurvy, Shelvocke's men mutinied and many deserted to
the Spanish in Peru (among them William Betagh, who published a very
critical account of the voyage in 1728). On June 5, 1720, the "Speedwel"
was wrecked on an island off the coast of Chile. After four months, the
survivors managed to repair their ship and at last met with some
success, overtaking a treasure-laden Spanish ship, which they took as
their own.
Shelvocke's
crew was down to just forty men, yet within a few months they were able
to seize two more Spanish ships, but in the process, they ran so low on
water that the men were reduced to drinking their own urine. They also
learned that the war had ended, along with their privateer commission.
They were now pirates.
Shelvocke considered surrendering but instead attacked another rich Spanish vessel. The thirty or so survivors, now wealthy and reasonably well supplied, headed north, landing in California, where they took on provisions before setting sail for Macao. Upon arrival in the far east, Shelvocke sold his stolen ship and booked passage back to London. When he reached England in 1722, he was arrested for piracy and embezzlement—his financial backers believed he was holding out on them, and it seems likely he was.
He was acquitted at trial and then wrote the first edition of this book to clear his name. This second edition, expanded by his son, also named George, who accompanied his father on the voyage, has been seen as an attempt to further restore the Shelvocke reputation.
This book is noteworthy for its
folding world map (inserted facing the engraved title page), which shows
California as an island. There are also two plates depicting California
Indians, one of the earliest such depictions.
Nicely bound in red morocco and marbled paper by Sangorski and Sutcliffe. A near fine copy.
Sabin 80159. Howes S383 "aa". [10ZZ].
(#E324)
$3,250
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