The Duke and Duchess

Woodes Rogers, with the celebrated William Dampier as pilot) and Duchess (260 tons, 26 guns and 108 men under Captain Stephen Courtenay) were Bristol Privateers in the reign of Queen Anne. The tranquility in this calm portrayal of two frigates is somewhat misleading, as in fact they were Bristol privateers and as such were often engaged in ferocious battles. In 1708 they embarked on an adventurous voyage around the world lasting two years, during which they captured many prizes in the South Seas. One of these was the Manila galleon, Nuestra Senore de la Incarnacion, Dasangano, after an engagement lasting about one and a half hours. On a lighter note, it was the Duke which in 1709 rescued the original Robinson Crusoe, Alexander Selkirk , from the island of Juan Fernandez.