We all admire those who have ‘gone before’, broken records and achieved such greatness in the Southern Ocean, but there is one name from the past whose exploits around Cape Horn have so far not been honoured on the Cape Horn Hall of Fame Board – That of the British Naval Officer Commodore George Anson, later 1st Lord of the British Admiralty.
Born in 1697, he joined the Royal Navy at the age of 15 and quickly rose through the ranks. In 1737 he was promoted to Commodore and took command of the 60-gun HMS Centurion to lead an 8-strong squadron of ships around the Horn and into the Pacific to harass Spanish treasure galleons
Setting out later than planned, Anson’s squadron encountered successive disasters. Wracked by malnutrition, scurvy, failing equipment and rigging, the small squadron was hit by the most violent of weather. Strong easterly currents and violent westerly storms quickly swept them well east of Cape Horn. Yet they continued, with men dying almost every day, some swept overboard, as they fought to conquer the horrific conditions and somehow obey Admiralty orders to reach the Pacific Ocean.
They were forced down to 62 degrees south as they fought to sail west, before eventually sailing north-west, hoping to reach the Pacific. By the time Anson found the Juan Fernandez Islands in June 1741, two of his vessels had failed to round Cape Horn and turned for home, and another had been wrecked off the coast of Chile. The worn-out state of his remaining ships led him to take the remaining survivors on board Centurion before continuing to Macau in November 1742.
After considerable difficulties with the Chinese, Anson sailed again with his one remaining vessel in search of the Manila galleons conducting trade between Mexico and the Chinese merchants in the Philippines, where he captured the Nuestra Señora de Covadonga carrying a huge treasure horde in June 1743. This is believed to be the largest treasure ever captured at sea. Indeed, 1/3 of the bullion in the Bank of England today came from Anson’s voyage – 14 wagon loads!
The charts captured with the ship added many islands to the British knowledge of the Pacific, including what became known as the Anson Archipelago. Returning via the Cape of Good Hope, HMS C
Web links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Anson,_1st_Baron_Anson
https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Anson-Baron-Anson
