In this episode of pplpod, we explore the astonishing life of William Dampier, a 17th-century pirate, explorer, naturalist, and writer whose adventures helped shape the modern world. The episode follows Dampier from his beginnings in Somerset, England through his years raiding Spanish ships across the Pacific and Caribbean as a buccaneer and privateer. Along the way, he meticulously documented winds, currents, wildlife, food, languages, and cultures while surviving shipwrecks, storms, mutinies, imprisonment, and failed expeditions. The discussion examines how a man involved in piracy and violent colonial expansion also became one of the most influential observational writers of his era, introducing English-speaking audiences to foods and words like avocado, barbecue, cashew, chopsticks, mango chutney, and guacamole.

The episode also explore ...