(Continuing from Part 02)
After escaping the terrible storm at Yarmouth, I traveled by land to London.
I was still young, inexperienced, and uncertain about my future. I had no relatives in London who could help me, and I knew very little about business or life at sea.
I had enough money to return home to York, but I refused to do so.
I was ashamed to face my parents after ignoring their advice. I imagined my neighbors asking why I had returned so quickly from my great adventure.
My pride would not allow it.
Instead, I remained in London and began looking for another opportunity to travel.
I soon discovered that I had made a foolish decision during my first voyage.
When I had sailed from Hull, I had traveled as an ordinary passenger. I had learned almost nothing about navigation, ships, or the duties of sailors.
I could have worked aboard the ship and learned a useful occupation. Instead, I had spent most of my time doing nothing.
Now I understood that if I wanted to continue traveling, I needed to learn something about the sea.
Fortunately, I met a friendly and experienced sea captain.
He was preparing to sail to the coast of Guinea in Africa. His purpose was to trade goods with the people who lived there.
He seemed to enjoy my company, and we became friends.
When he learned that I wanted to travel, he invited me to join him.
“You may come with me,” he said. “You will not need to pay for your food or accommodation. If you bring some goods to trade, you may even earn a little money.”
I was delighted.
This seemed like a much better opportunity than my first voyage.
I had no experience in trading, but the captain offered to help me.
With the money I still possessed, I purchased small goods that could be sold or exchanged in Africa.
These included inexpensive objects that were attractive to the people with whom we hoped to trade.
I spent about forty pounds on these goods.
It was a considerable amount of money for me, and I worried about losing it.
However, I trusted the captain’s experience.
Soon, our ship was ready.
We left England and sailed south toward the coast of Africa.
This voyage was very different from my first.
The weather was generally favorable, and our ship traveled safely across the sea.
The captain was kind to me. He explained how sailors found their position by observing the sun and stars.
He taught me how to understand maps and use the instruments needed for navigation.
I also learned something about the winds, the direction of the ship, and the management of a voyage.
I listened carefully because I wanted to become more knowledgeable.
During the journey, I began to feel that I had finally found the life I wanted.
I enjoyed watching the changing sea and the distant coastline.
Every day brought something new.
When we reached the coast of Guinea, we began trading.
The captain understood the business very well.
He knew which goods were valuable and how to exchange them for gold and other products.
I followed his advice.
To my surprise, my small collection of goods produced an excellent profit.
When we eventually returned to England, I discovered that I had earned nearly three hundred pounds.
I was astonished.
I had begun the voyage with only forty pounds’ worth of trading goods, and now I possessed much more money than before.
I felt proud of my success.
For the first time, I believed that traveling by sea might make me wealthy.
The voyage had also taught me useful skills.
I was no longer completely ignorant of ships and navigation.
I had learned to observe the sea, understand the captain’s instructions, and take part in the work of a trading voyage.
But my happiness did not last.
Not long after our return, the good captain became ill and died.
I was deeply saddened.
He had been my teacher, my friend, and the person who had helped me succeed.
Without him, I felt uncertain again.
Still, I wanted to make another voyage to Africa.
I had earned so much money on the first journey that I hoped to repeat my success.
I decided to travel on the same ship, which was now commanded by the former first mate.
Before leaving, I took precautions with my money.
I did not want to carry all my wealth aboard the ship.
I left two hundred pounds with the widow of my former captain. She was an honest woman, and I trusted her completely.
I used the remaining money to purchase more goods for trading.
Then I boarded the ship and began my second voyage to Guinea.
At first, everything seemed promising.
I imagined returning to England with another large profit.
Perhaps I would become a successful merchant.
Perhaps I would travel to many countries and make my fortune.
But once again, I had failed to consider the dangers ahead.
As we sailed near the Canary Islands, our ship encountered pirates.
They came from the port of Salé on the coast of North Africa.
Their vessel was fast, and they quickly began chasing us.
Our captain ordered the sailors to raise more sails, hoping we could escape.
For several hours, we tried to outrun the pirates.
But their ship was faster than ours.
They came closer and closer.
At last, we prepared to defend ourselves.
We had twelve guns aboard our ship, while the pirates had eighteen.
They were stronger than we were.
The pirates approached and attempted to board our vessel.
Our sailors fired their guns, and for a short time we managed to resist them.
But the attackers continued their assault.
They came alongside us again, and a fierce battle followed.
Several of our men were killed or wounded.
We fought as hard as we could, but our situation was hopeless.
Finally, we were forced to surrender.
The pirates took control of our ship and carried us to Salé.
There, our cargo was taken from us, and the surviving sailors were made prisoners.
My hopes of becoming a wealthy merchant disappeared.
Worse still, I was no longer a free man.
The pirate captain chose me to serve him personally.
I had become his slave.
I had left England because I wanted freedom and adventure.
Now I found myself in a foreign country, far from home, with no money and no power to decide my own future.
I could only wonder whether I would ever escape.