Complex sentence: He was born in London the eldest son of an architect, James Donaldson, and travelled overseas after leaving school, obtaining a clerical job with a merchant on the Cape of Good Hope before volunteering for an expedition to attack the French-controlled island of Mauritius.
Split into simpler sentences: He was born in London the eldest son of an architect, James Donaldson. Donaldson travelled overseas after leaving school, obtaining a clerical job with a merchant on the Cape of Good Hope before volunteering for an expedition to attack the French-controlled island of Mauritius.