Complex sentence: For his part, Roberts's shipping had, by 1827, left him nearly impoverished by the depredations of French and Spanish privateers in the West Indies and opted to charter a ship to trade in the Indian Ocean.
Split into simpler sentences: For his part, Roberts's shipping had, by 1827, left him nearly impoverished by the depredations of French and Spanish privateers in the West Indies. He opted to charter a ship to trade in the Indian Ocean.