Having proved himself a remarkable fighting seaman during a circumnavigation of the globe attacking Spanish shipping, Woodes Rogers was appointed Governor of the Bahamas by George I and tasked with the job of ridding the colony of pirates. Drawing on his own memoir as well as other contemporary sources, including notes from the trials of notorious pirates, this book recounts Rogers's adventures, which include rescuing the marooned Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe.