! ! The!Nature!of!the!Wind:!Myth,!Fact,!and!Faith!in!the!Development!of!Wind!Knowledge! in!Early!Modern!England! ! by! Risha!Amadea!Druckman! Department!of!History! Duke!University! ! Date:_______________________! Approved:! ! ___________________________! Gunther!Peck,!Supervisor! ! ___________________________! Katherine!Morrissey! ___________________________! Edward!Balleisen! ___________________________! John!Huston! ___________________________! Laurent!Dubois! ! Dissertation!submitted!in!partial!fulfillment!of! the!requirements!for!the!degree!of!Doctor! of!Philosophy!in!the!Department!of! History!in!the!Graduate!School! of!Duke!University! ! 2015! ! i v! ! ! ABSTRACT! The!Nature!of!the!Wind:!Myth,!Fact,!and!Faith!in!the!Development!of!Wind! Knowledge!in!Early!Modern!England! ! by! Risha!Amadea!Druckman! Department!of!History! Duke!University! ! Date:_______________________! Approved:! ! ___________________________! Gunther!Peck,!Supervisor! ! ___________________________! Katherine!Morrissey! ! ___________________________! Edward!Balleisen! ! ___________________________! John!Huston! ! ___________________________! Laurent!Dubois! ! ! An!abstract!of!a!dissertation!submitted!in!partial! fulfillment!of!the!requirements!for!the!degree! of!Doctor!of!Philosophy!in!the!Department!of! History!in!the!Graduate!School!of! Duke!University! ! 2015! i v! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Copyright!by! Risha!Amadea!Druckman! 2015! ! ! ! Abstract Historically,!the!wind!has!functioned!in!multiple!capacities,!both!physically!and! symbolically.!The!following!study!explores!the!ways!in!which!natural!history,!myth!and! folklore,!craft!knowledge,!and!religion!contributed!to!a!growing!body!of!knowledge! about!the!wind!at!a!moment!in!British!history!when!wind!knowledge!assumed! unprecedented!political!and!economic!significance.!How!did!people!come!to!know!the! wind!and!to!narrate!and!communicate!wind!knowledge!in!the!seventeenth!century?! What!work!did!these!complex!and!competing!narrations!perform?!And!what!do!they! make!visible?!In!pursuing!these!lines!of!inquiry,!my!work!brings!together!three!principle! bodies!of!knowledge:!Environmental!History,!History!of!Science,!and!British!Imperial! History;!and!it!draws!upon!documents!that!include!scientific!treatises,!written!records!of! oral!anecdotes!and!weather!wising,!religious!sermons,!travel!narratives,!fictional!novels,! and!imperial!correspondence.!I!argue!that!because!the!wind!and!wind!knowledge!were! ubiquitous!to!the!emerging!success!and!identity!of!the!British!empire,!a!great!variety!of! historical!actors!sought!to!control!and!narrate!what!wind!knowledge!was,!where!it!came! from,!and!what!political!work!it!should!do.!These!efforts!were!unequivocally!rooted!in! first!hand!experience!and!observation!of!the!wind—maker’s!knowledge—and!created! what!I!call!an!intellectual!commons!that!enabled!commoners!as!well!as!elites!to!shape! ! iv! ! and!briefly!control!the!contours!of!wind!knowledge!in!early!Modern!Britain!and!its! expanding!empire.! ! v! ! Dedication For!my!mother!and!father,!Jennifer!and!Mitchell!Druckman,!my!brother!David! Druckman,!and!in!loving!memory!of!Bear!and!Patricia!Rhoads.!! ! ! ! ! ! vi! ! Contents Abstract!..........................................................................................................................................!iv! List!of!Figures!...............................................................................................................................!ix! Acknowledgements!......................................................................................................................!x! Introduction!...................................................................................................................................!1! Historiography!........................................................................................................................!8! Methodology!.........................................................................................................................!15! Map!.........................................................................................................................................!20! Chapter!1.!Francis!Bacon!and!the!History!of!Winds!..............................................................!24! Bacon’s!Plan!for!Intellectual!Reform!.................................................................................!30! Aristotle!and!the!Ancient!Greeks!.......................................................................................!42! Naming!the!Winds!.............................................................................................................!49! Wind!as!Thunder,!Lightening,!and!Earthquake!............................................................!51! Bacon’s!History!of!Winds!....................................................................................................!54! Naming!the!Winds!.............................................................................................................!60! Trade!Winds!........................................................................................................................!63! Folklore!................................................................................................................................!68! Wind!and!Sailing!Ships!.....................................................................................................!79! Chapter!2.!William!Dampier!and!the!Political`Economy!of!the!Intellectual!Commons!...!87! Science!and!the!Trade!Winds!..............................................................................................!95! Dampier!and!the!Trade!Winds!.........................................................................................!120! ! vii! ! Pirates,!Slaves,!and!the!Trade!Winds!..............................................................................!138! Chapter!3.!Blowing!Out!the!Candle!of!Reason:!England!and!the!Great!Storm!of!1703!..!179! Wind!in!Ancient!Greek!Mythology!.................................................................................!198! The!Great!Storm!..................................................................................................................!210! Science!and!the!Great!Storm!.............................................................................................!223! Religion!and!the!Great!Storm!...........................................................................................!239! Chapter!4.!Wind,!Narrative,!and!Discourse!..........................................................................!266! Sailor!Lore!............................................................................................................................!273! Wind!Knowledge!at!Sea!....................................................................................................!296! Travel!Narratives!................................................................................................................!308! Hurricanes!...........................................................................................................................!322! Wind!and!the!Novel!...........................................................................................................!336! Religion!and!Science!..........................................................................................................!350! Conclusion!..................................................................................................................................!360! Bibliography!..............................................................................................................................!373! Biography!...................................................................................................................................!401! ! ! viii! ! List of Figures Figure!1:!“Dock!Scene!at!a!British!Port,”!Jacob!Knyff.!...........................................................!25! Figure!2:!“A!View!of!the!General!and!Coasting!Trade`Winds! !in!the!Great!South!Ocean.”!.....................................................................................................!116! Figure!3:!“England’s!Great!Storm”!(Artist!unknown).!........................................................!179! ! ! ! ix! ! Acknowledgements I!have!been!fortunate!to!receive!outstanding!support!and!mentorship!from!my! department,!professors,!and!colleagues!at!both!Duke!University!and!the!University!of! Arizona.!I!would!like!to!thank!the!members!of!my!committee!for!supporting!my! intellectual!and!professional!growth,!as!well!as!my!personal!development,!each!in!their! own!special!way.!And!I!would!like!to!thank!my!advisor,!Gunther!Peck,!for!nurturing!my! intellectual!creativity!and!exploration,!for!encouraging!me!to!take!risks,!and!for!keeping! the!bar!high.!This!work!was!made!possible,!in!part,!through!the!support!of!an!F.K.! Weyerhaeuser!Forest!History!Fellowship!in!Environmental!History.! ! x! ! Introduction The!wind!is!a!force!that!in!and!of!itself!cannot!be!observed.!It!is!only!through!its! relationships!with!other!objects!that!it!becomes!visible.!We!see!the!wind!through!what!it! moves!and!shakes,!bends!and!twists,!through!what!it!lifts!into!the!air!or!drags!across!the! ground—leaves!spiraling!round!the!branches!or!skipping!erratically!across!the! pavement,!the!sails!of!a!windmill!turning!on!their!axis,!or!the!hull!of!a!sailboat!propelled! across!the!sea.!We!cannot!see!the!wind!itself.!It!eludes!us.!And!yet,!it!is!always!there!and!