Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea Medal:Commodore George Anson Voyage r…

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Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea Medal:Commodore George Anson Voyage round the World

AssociatedAssociated with Lord Mountbatten of Burma (Frogmore House, Windsor, England, 1900 - 1979)

Medallist John Pinches, Medallists

DateMay 2004

Object NameMedal

MediumSterling Silver

ClassificationsMedals

Dimensions44mm

AcquisitionPresented in 2004 by Dr Joan M Burrell.

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDMS072500.23

Keywords

About MeCommodore George Anson (1697-1762) was appointed to the command of HMS Centurion (60 guns, 700 tons) and five smaller ships at the beginning of the War of Jenkins' Ear. His squadron sailed from Portsmouth on 18th September, 1740, but only the Centurion returned, nearly four years later, after the most famous circumnavigation between those of Drake and Cook. This was partly on account of the immense treasure captured and partly because of the popularity of the narrative of the voyage, which is one of the classics of the sea.

The ships were infamously manned, their complements being made up by 259 Chelsea Hospital pensioners, of whom hardly one survived. Out of the 1,939 men who sailed from England only 1,051 returned, owing to the appalling incidence of scurvy; and of the six ships, only the Centurion completed the voyage round the world. Most of the others either turned back or were wrecked on the island of Tierra del Fuego. The one ship which joined the Centurion at Juan Fernandez, the rendezvous in the Pacific, had to be destroyed because there were not enough men to sail her.

Henceforward, however, the voyage was crowned with success. Valuable prizes were taken off South America and many towns looted. Off the Mexican coast Anson decided to stretch across the Pacific to Macao, where he heard that the Manila galleon was on her way east to Acapulco with a valuable cargo of bullion and Chinese goods. He intercepted this ship, the 1,005-ton Nuestra señora de Cobadonga off Cape Espiritu Santo in the Philippines. Though the Centurion was only half the size of her opponent, the action which took place on 20th June, 1743 was over in a few minutes because the Spanish galleon was ill-equipped for fighting. An immense amount of treasure was found on board which, together with that previously seized, amounted to about £50 million at today's value.

Anson took his ship back to Canton, the first English warship to visit China, and thence to England, where he arrived on 15th June, 1744. His share of the prize money was three-eighths, so that the voyage made his fame and fortune. He was raised to the peerage and became First Lord of the Admiralty, where his reforms were of great importance and his strategic planning bore fruit in the Seven Years War.

The voyage also had two important consequences. One was the conquest of scurvy, the scourge of the sea, by Dr James Lind, whose treatise on the disease, suggesting a cure of lemon juice, was dedicated to Anson. The other was the invention of the chronometer, from the lack of which many of Anson's misfortunes stemmed.

The Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea, John Pinches Medallists Ltd.