The Real Ancient Mariner

A biography of the original of Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner, a sailor by the name of Simon Hatley. In 1719 Simon Hatley, a sailor on the Speedwell rounding Cape Horn, shot an albatross in a ‘melancholy fit’ and his scheming captain, George Shelvocke, wrote about the incident. Samuel Taylor Coleridge read Shelvocke’s book seventy-eight years later and was inspired to write his famous poem The Rime of the Ancyent Marinere. Robert Fowke, working from contemporary documents, uncovers for the first time in over two hundred years the true identity of Simon Hatley/the Ancient Mariner and gives an enthralling account of his adventures. Simon Hatley sailed to the Pacific on two of the most dangerous privateering voyages of the early eighteenth century, was implicated in an act of piracy, twice imprisoned by the Inquisition and, in 1709, sailed on the same ship with Alexander Selkirk, the model for Robinson Crusoe, and William Dampier, mentioned in Gulliver’s Travels as ‘my cousin Dampier’. The models for the Ancient Mariner, Robinson Crusoe and, to some extent, Gulliver were once all shipmates together. The tale of Hatley’s adventures illuminates events behind this strange literary coincidence. Contents: Preface Hatley: the discovery of Simon Hatley/the Ancient Mariner’s identity, his childhood and family background. The Language of the Sea: about the extraordinary voyages and books of buccaneer authors and shipmates of Simon Hatley, such as William Dampier, how they exploited their credentials as seamen for literary and commercial gain. The Hand of the most High: how religious tension was reflected on the high sea, and the broader politcal/religious context behind early-eighteenth-century pirate, buccaneering and privateering voyages into the Pacific. The Voyage of the Cinque Ports: William Dampier’s privateering expedition into the Pacific at the start of the War of the Spanish Succession, when Alexander Selkirk (Robinson Crusoe) was marooned on the Juan Fernandez Islands. The Voyage of the Duke and Duchess: Hatley sails as Third Mate, the rescue of Selkirk, capture of Guaykil, Hatley lost at sea. Good Dogs were Tories: return of the Duke and Duchess, formation of the South Sea Company, litigation and dissension. Hatley lost at sea. Lima and the Ancient Mariner: tortured by the Inquisition. Gentlelam Venturers: the voyage of the Speedwell. The Albatross: the shooting of the albatross and other adventures Crusoe and Gulliver: the South Sea Bubble bursts, Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver and Shelvocke’s book are written. Last information on Simon Hatley. Coleridge: the genesis of the poem. Bibliography Endnotes Index