IN THE LATE seventeenth century, William Dampier and his fellow pirates sacked, burned, robbed and ransomed Spanish towns up and down the coasts of Central and South America. Dampier was never any good at this. As pirate or privateer captain, he never captured any treasure of note. However, he did bring home a treasury of useful knowledge in natural history, economics and political economy, hydrography, anthropology, zoology, ethnography, botany, geography, navigation, literature, and language.

Of all this, Dampier's booty of words is the most significant. Today, we commonly use words introduced to the English language by the pirate Dampier. Words like banana, barbeque, castaway, sea-breeze, and subspecies.

He was among the first handful of writers to use words like intelligence (information useful for achieving strategic goals), free trade (trade between sovereign peoples without interference or coercion from government), and maroon (to be lost somewhere). In all, he helped introduce around a thousand new English words and helped popularize many more.

This book examines in-depth over one-hundred of Dampier's most important and interesting words.

Search Amazon for "tomes maritime dampier" and discover: THE DAMPIER COLLECTION

Vol. 1. A New Voyage Round the World by William Dampier

Vol. 2. Supplement of the Voyage Round the World by William Dampier

Vol. 3. Two Voyages to Campeachy by William Dampier

Vol. 4. A Discourse of Winds by William Dampier

Vol. 5. A Voyage to New Holland by William Dampier

Vol. 6. A Continuation of a Voyage to New Holland by William Dampier

Vol. 7. The Adventures of William Dampier: Being William Dampier's Unpublished Journal (Sloan MS. 3236) by William Dampier

Vol. 8. William Dampier's Atlas &c. A Collection of Maps. A Glossary. A Catalog of Old and New Place Names. Dampier's Who's Who. A Brisk Biography.

Vol. 9. A Booty of Words. A Dictionary Devoted to the Linguistic Treasure Contributed to the English Language by the Pirate William Dampier

Vol. 10. Wafer's New Voyage and Description of the Isthmus of Darien by Lionel Wafer

Vol. 11. Cowley's Voyage Round the Globe by William Ambrosia Cowley

Vol. 12. Baz Ringrose's Journal Into the South Seas by Basil Ringrose

Vol. 13 William Dick's South Sea Voyage by William Dick (aka William Williams)

Vol. 14. Captain Sharp's Journey Over the Isthmus of Darien and Expedition Into the South Seas by Bartholomew Sharp

Vol. 15. The Voyage and Adventures of Bartholomew Sharp and Others in the South Seas by Anonymous

Vol. 16. Funnell's A Voyage Round the World. Containing an Account of Captain Dampier's Expedition Into the South-Seas in the Ship St George, In the Years 1703 and 1704 by William Funnell. Includes: William Dampier's Vindication by William Dampier

Vol. 17. Woodes Rogers' Cruising Voyage Round the World by Woodes Rogers

Vol. 18. Woodes Rogers' Life Aboard a British Privateer by Woodes Rogers

Vol. 19. Edward Cooke's A Voyage to the South Seas and Round the World by Captain Edward Cooke