1-152-215 - Ann Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images

Admiral Anson in the 'Centurion' taking a Spanish galleon off the Philippines, 1743 (c1895). Admiral George Anson (1697-1762) commanded a Royal Navy squadron of 6 ships sent to attack Spanish interests in South America at the outset of the War of Austrian Succession in September 1740. The expedition failed to achieve its military objective, 5 of the ships were lost and many of the crews succumbed to shipwreck and scurvy. Anson and the survivors aboard the remaining ship, the 'Centurion', crossed the Pacific and on 20 June 1743, captured a rich prize, the Spanish galleon 'Nostra Signora de Cabadonga'. Anson and his crew eventually arrived back in England in June 1744, having circumnavigated the globe.