The Prize of All the Oceans

Description

In September 1740 Commodore George Anson set sail from Spithead with a six-vessel British warship expedition. His orders were to sail around the world, rout the Spanish fleet, and seize “the great galleon that made the annual voyage from Acapulco to Manila…laden with Peruvian silver, the prize of all the oceans”. Anson did achieve this goal, but at a great price: only one of his squadron, the flagship Centurion, completed its mission. The other vessels were wrecked, scuttled, or forced back in shattered condition. And of the 1900 men with whom Anson set sail, almost 1400 died, most from disease or starvation. But Commodore Anson’s expedition was considered a success, and the true and disastrous facts were covered up. The voyage was Britain’s first to combine a maritime expedition with commercial enterprise, and represented the beginning of the nation’s ambitious designs in the Pacific. Glyn Williams tells a compelling tale of adventure and tragedy, combined with thoughtful analysis and commentary, and gives us a vivid portrait of a commander who hauled ropes alongside his men and tended them when they were ill — but never wavered in his determination to return home triumphant.