Woodes Rogers is a sea captain in Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag, who becomes the first Royal Governor of The Bahamas
Biography[edit]
Bom: 1679, England
Died: ????
Woodes Rogers was born into money, to a seafaring family with deep roots in both Poole and Bristol, England. His early life was a picture of industriousness and ambition, and by the age of 18 he was an apprentice Mariner.
Upon his father's death at sea in 1706, Woodes inherited his family's prosperous shipping company, which he took to managing with great passion. Between 1704 and 1707 Rogers' fortunes and famiy grew, and by the time he was twenty-seven his marriage to Sarah Whetstone had produced one son and two daughters.
By the end of 1707, however, his business had suffered great losses by raiding French forces, giving Rogers the idea to recoup these dreadful losses himself. Knocking about Bristol in search of a partner for this endeavor, he soon found himself in the company of Wiliam Dampier, an old friend and unlucky Captain who suggested setting out on a privateering expedition, one that would range far and wide about the New World. In 1708, Rogers made the necessary arrangements and set out as Captain of his own vessel, on a difficult voyage that would last over three years.
Along his course Rogers met with many successes and failures. In 1709, of the western coast of South America, he found and rescued a marooned sailor by the name of Alexander Selkirk, a sailor who had spent nearly 4 years living in isolation and who would serve as the inspiration for the book "Robinson Crusoe" just a few years later.
Soon after Selkirk’s recovery, Rogers' fleet engaged an enemy vessel in open combat - a skirmish that earned him a pistol shot to the left side of his face and a mangled heel. Neither wound was enough to remove him from command however, and he continued serving as captain until his return to England in late 1711 To commemorate this return, he had an operation to remove the offending bullet from his upper palate
Now in poor health but high spirits, Woodes set about writing his memoirs. Upon their publication a few years, they were an immediate success, and proved a great source of income. But this brief glory was offset bf the sudden death of his son, a tragedy compounded some months later by his wife's decision to leave him. Also at this time, Rogers was sued by former shipmates for allegedly hoarding goods and money plundered from enemy vessels. Rogers assembled a defense, but lost the case
In 1713, itching to return to sea, he organized passage to Madagascar claiming to be a merchant in the slave trade, but with the intended purpose of reconnoitering the rumored pirate colonies established there. When he arrived in Madagascar after months of hard sailing he found that the legends of the pirate town “Libertalia" had been exaggerated one-hundredfold. The pirates in Madagascar were sickly and few and desperate for help. After spending just a few months here, Roqers set sail for England, a failure in his own mind...
And yet never one to give up hope, Woodes Rogers reoriented his attentions to the West Indies, eventually lobbying King George for a commission to hunt pirates in the Caribbean. On this score, he succeeded. After a few diligent years of making his case, King George appointed Woodes Rogers as the Governor of the Bahamas Now, at last he would make his mark, and bring justice to a land where chaos had taken root..
