Scarce engraved view with Lord Anson’s ships at Cape Blanco, Patagonia from the English edition of Lord Anson’s voyage.
Anson’s log for Cape Blanco:
From hence to February the 13th, very variable weather, mostly foggy, from latitude 35, or thereabouts, to latitude 39; the rest a mix|ture not much unlike our weather in England in the month of October, except that we had pretty often thunder and lightning, which are not so frequent with us in that month. Being past the latitude of 36 degrees to the southward, I observed the current, which had hitherto con|stantly set southerly, now on the contrary, set to the northward; and the great river of Rio de la Plata being situated in between 35 and 36 degrees south, strengthens my conjecture that those currents are occasioned by the flux and reflux of that mighty river. February 13, we saw the land from S. by W. to S. half E. appearing plain, with very few ris|ings, and of a very moderate height, our sound|ings at that time from 46 to 56 fathom, the first mud, the latter stony ground. This day, at four in the evening, we were within about four miles of Cape Blanco on the coast of Patagonia, and in 12 fathom water; on which we hauled off, and ran along the coast, the soundings from 20 to 60 fathom water. At five the next morning we saw the land from W. by N. to S. W. half W. with an opening near the middle; which I believe to be the harbour of Port Desire, so called by Sir John Narborough. The northernmost land in sight is Cape Blanco, Page 266 and the southermost Penguin Island, so called from the great numbers of penguins about it, of which birds Sir John’s ship’s company killed and salted large quantities for provisions, and which he reports to be very good and wholesome food. Cape Blanco is in the latitude of 47 deg. 10 min. S longit. from St. Katharine’s 17 deg. 38 min. W. which makes it from London 67 deg. 20 min. W. taking the N. E. point of St. Katharine’s in 4• deg. 42 min. W. to be about 11 minutes to the eastward of the place where the ship lay when I fixed it by observation.
Anson was given command of the 60-gun third-rate HMS Centurion in the West Africa Squadron in 1737 and, having been promoted to commodore with his broad pennant in HMS Centurion, he took command of a squadron sent to attack Spanish possessions in South America at the outset of the War of Jenkins’ Ear. In 1740. Those orders were ‘to take, burn, sink or otherwise destroy the ships and vessels belonging to the Crown of Spain‘. The ships involved were the Centurion, Gloucester, Severn, Pearl, Wager, Tryal and two store ships the Anna and Industry. Anson had great difficulty in manning the fleet and the crew was supplemented with 500 invalids, out-patients from Chelsea Hospital who all died during the voyage.
After setting off later than planned, Anson’s squadron encountered successive disasters. Two of his vessels, the fifth-rate HMS Pearl and the fourth-rate HMS Severn, failed to round Cape Horn and returned home. Meanwhile, the sixth-rate HMS Wager was wrecked off the coast of Chile, where the crew subsequently mutinied. The lateness of the season forced him to round the Horn in very stormy weather, and the navigating instruments of the time did not allow for exact observations. Anson reached the Juan Fernández Islands in June 1741 with only three of his six ships remaining: HMS Centurion, the fourth-rate HMS Gloucester, and the sloop HMS Tryall. The strength of his crews had fallen from 961 to 335 due to scurvy. In November 1741, he was able to sack the small port city of Paita in Peru in the absence of any effective Spanish force on the coast. However, the steady decrease of his crews by scurvy and the worn-out state of his remaining consorts compelled him to collect all the remaining survivors in Centurion. Anson then rested at the island of Tinian before making his way to Macao in November 1742.
After facing considerable difficulties with the Chinese, Anson sailed again with his one remaining vessel to search for one of the Manila galleons that conducted trade between Mexico and the Chinese merchants in the Philippines. He captured the Nuestra Señora de Covadonga, which he encountered off Cape Espiritu Santo on 20 June 1743. The ship had 1,313,843 pieces of eight on board, and the charts captured with the ship added many islands (and phantom islands) to the British knowledge of the Pacific, including the Anson Archipelago.
Anson took his prize back to Macao, sold her cargo to the Chinese, kept the specie, and sailed for England via the Cape of Good Hope. Despite passing by a French fleet patrolling the Channel through a thick fog, he reached England on 15 June 1744. The prize money earned from the capture of the galleon made Anson a rich man for life and bought him considerable political influence. However, he initially refused promotion to Rear-Admiral of the Blue out of anger that the admiralty refused to sanction a captain’s commission he had given one of his officers.
Anson, George (1697-1762), Voyage Round The World in The Years MDCCXL, I, II, III, IV by George Anson Esq; Commander In Chief of a Squadron of His Majesty?s Ships, Sent Upon an Expedition to The South-Seas. Compiled From Papers and Other Materials of The Right Honourable George Lord Anson, and Published Under His Direction, by Richard Walter, M.A. Chaplain of His Majesty’s Ship The Centurion, in that Expedition.
References:
Hill, J. The Hill Collection of Pacific Voyages. San Diego 1974 : 1817.
Sabin, J. A Dictionary of Books Relating to America, from its Discovery to the Present Time. New York. (1936) 1967 : 1626.
Shirley, R. Maps in the Atlases of The British Library. London 2004 : G.ANS-1a., RCIN 1072004.
Collections:
National Library Australia: Bib ID 644716
State Library New South Wales: Call Numbers: RB/DQ909.8A/A622/1
State Library Victoria: RARELT 910.41 AN8V
State Library South Australia: 910.41 A622.4 b (RGS Special Collection)
National Maritime Museum Greenwich: Item ID PBD3287
