Our project concerns Poole’s Maritime Heritage between 1580 and 1730, a fascinating 150 years of development to the town and port of Poole. So much happened across the period and the backdrop to change in Poole was at times quite dramatic.
As the timeline we have prepared shows, the period saw the reigns of nine monarchs, despite the civil war and 18 year period to the restoration. The Spanish Armada featured at the beginning of the period and across the rest of the period there came the settlement of Newfoundland and other colonies on the eastern seaboard of the America and in the Caribbean.
In the coming months we’ll add more besides to this overarching backdrop and summarise the developments of relevance more locally here in Poole.
Features of the period – a timeline across the period of this project
1526 Henry VIII grants Poole Charter to free it from the control of the High Court of the Admiralty. Confers “Admiral of Poole” title on Mayor
1565 Button is born
1568 Elizabeth I grants Charter to Poole – Town and County of Poole (admiral and admiralty court) one of only 16 in the country
1577 French and Spanish piracy was troubling Elizabeth I’s diplomacy
1578 Elizabeth appointed Commissioners to deal with these problems in their own waters– the first in Poole were the Mayor, the Recorder and four others
1578 Francis Rogers of Poole implicated in piracy; his brother Sir Richard Rogers, High Sherriff of Dorset, protects him
1581 Several pirates hanged on Studland beach
1583 43 pirate vessels seized by RN warships off Dorset Coast
1585 Privy Council hands over powers to the county to defend its own waters
1585 Button enters naval service
1588 Spanish Armada
1603 Elizabeth dies, James I crowned
1605 Gunpowder Plot
1610 First Newfoundland settlement established at Cupid’s Cove
1612 Button sets off in command of Resolution and Discovery to search for the Northwest Passage
1613 Button returns with only the Discovery
1615 Newfoundland fleet out of Poole comprises 46 ships
1616 Button knighted after search for Northwest Passage
1620-21 Algiers Raid
1625 James It dies, Charles I crowned
1634 Button dies (aged 68)
1634 Charles I re-introduces ship money, taxes to support the national defences
1649 Charles I executed
1642 Civil War – Poole takes side of Parliament
1660 Restoration of Monarchy
1660 Charles II made King
1670 Bennett born
1679 Rogers born
1685 Charles II dies, succeeded by James II
1685 Monmouth Rebellion
1688 Exile of James II, accession of William and Mary
1690? Rogers’ family moves to Bristol
1690? Bennett’s family moves to Barking
1694 Death of Queen Mary
1702 Death of William III, succeeded by Queen Anne
1707 England and Scotland create Great Britain
1708 Rogers sets off around the world with Duke and Duchess
1709 Alexander Selkirk rescued by Rogers’ ship
1711 Rogers returns
1714 Death of Queen Anne, succeeded by George I
1717 Bennett dies (aged 47)
1718 Rogers sets off for Nassau, the Bahamas
1721 Rogers returns penniless
1719 Daniel Defoe writes and publishes Robinson Crusoe
1727 Death of George I, succeeded by George II
1728 Rogers appointed Governor of Bahamas a second time
1729 Rogers goes out to Bahamas again
1732 Rogers dies (aged 53)