ROGERS, Woodes, English navigator, born in Derbyshire, England, about 1665; died in London in 1732. He was a commander in the navy when he was chosen in 1708 as captain of an expedition that was sent by merchants of Bristol, at the suggestion of William Dampier, to explore the Pacific ocean. He sailed from Bristol on 1 August, with two ships, with Dampier as pilot. After advancing far to the south, disappointed in not finding a great southern continent, they steered to the north, and landing, 1 February, 1709, at Juan Fernandez island, rescued Alexander Selkirk (q. v.). On the southern coast of Peru, Rogers secured some rich Spanish prizes, attacked the city of Guayaquil, exacting from the citizens an enormous ransom, and sailed along the coast as far as Cape San Lucas in Lower California. After visiting Batavia he passed the Cape of Good Hope, and anchored in the Downs, 2 October, 1711. In 1717 he was commissioned governor of New Providence in the Bahamas, and was sent with a division against the pirates that had ravaged the neighboring islands. He published "Narrative of a Cruise around the World" (London, 1712). Edward Cook, who commanded one of the ships in Rogers's expedition, published "Voyage in the South Sea and Around the World, made in the Years 1708-'9-'10-'11" (1712).