Why Did The Voyages Happen?

The primary impetus for the three voyages was undoubtedly the existence of war with Spain. The Dampier voyage began just over a year after the start of the War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1713), the Rogers expedition set out while the same war continued, and that of Clipperton took place during the brief war of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–1720). The Spanish Empire was perceived as weak and even less able to protect its possessions than in Drake's time and therefore presented an attractive proposition for adventurers. There were new publications, such as that of Narborough's voyage, which provided invaluable intelligence about passages and harbours in the South Sea, and other voyage narratives, such as that of Gouin de Beauchêne, whose account of the riches to be had from South America stimulated Woodes Rogers's interest. The accounts of the buccaneers, which Rogers was later to denigrate, and Dampier's Voyage Round the World all provided tantalising glimpses of the wealth of the Americas and the absence of any substantial force to defend it.

British commerce was in a position to raise the substantial sums required to finance the voyages. Although the slave trade, perhaps the most profitable of all trades in the eighteenth century, was still in its infancy, the growth of other trades to the East Indies and North America was rapid. Such long-distance trading ventures had habituated British merchants to credit terms – essential for the slave trade and imports of tobacco, sugar and silks – of twelve months or more and rendered the long-term capital investment required for the cruising voyages more acceptable. The costs of a cruising voyage were, however, exceptional. The investors in the Dampier expedition claimed to have put up £15,000 for the voyage (over one million pounds in today's terms).