abstract
| - Walker, as a lad and a young man, served in the Dutch navy, and was employed in the Levant for the protection of trade against Turkish or Greek pirates. Later on he became the owner of a merchant ship and commanded her for some years. In 1739, he was principal owner and commander of the ship Duke William, trading from London to South Carolina, and, the better to prepare for defence, took out letters of marque. His ship mounted 20 guns, but had only thirty-two men. The coast of the Carolinas was infested by Spanish privateers, and, in the absence of any English man-of-war, Walker put the Duke William at the service of the colonial government. His offer was accepted; he increased the number of his men to 130, and succeeded in driving the Spanish ships off the coast. Towards the end of 1742 he sailed for England with three merchantmen in convoy. But in a December gale, as they drew near the Channel, the ship's seams opened. Walker, with her crew, managed to get on board one of the merchantmen, which was only just kept afloat. When finally Walker arrived in town, he learned that his agents had allowed the insurance to lapse, and that he was a ruined man. For the next year he was master of a vessel trading to the Baltic Sea.
|