George Anson, 1st Baron Anson
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Admiral of the Fleet George Anson, 1st Baron Anson, PC, FRS (23 April 1697 – 6 June 1762) was a
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
officer and politician from the Anson family. He served as a junior officer during the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
and then saw active service against Spain at the Battle of Cape Passaro, off the south tip of
Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
, during the War of the Quadruple Alliance. He then undertook a circumnavigation of the globe during the
War of Jenkins' Ear The War of Jenkins' Ear was fought by Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and History of Spain (1700–1808), Spain between 1739 and 1748. The majority of the fighting took place in Viceroyalty of New Granada, New Granada and the Caribbean ...
. Anson commanded the fleet that defeated the French Admiral de la Jonquière at the First Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1747, during the
War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...
. Anson went on to be First Lord of the Admiralty during the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
. Among his reforms were the removal of corrupt defence contractors, improved medical care, submitting a revision of the Articles of War to Parliament to tighten discipline throughout the Navy, uniforms for commissioned officers, the transfer of the
Marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...
from Army to Navy authority, and a system for rating ships according to their number of guns.


Background


Family

Anson was the son of William Anson of Shugborough in Staffordshire and Isabella Carrier,Cokayne, p. 173 whose brother-in-law was the Earl of Macclesfield and
Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
, a relationship that proved very useful to the future admiral. He was born on 23 April 1697, at Shugborough Manor. He was one of eight surviving children of the couple, and the younger brother of the politician Thomas Anson.


Early career

In February 1712, amid the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...
, Anson entered the
navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
at the age of 15. He served as a volunteer aboard the fourth-rate , before transferring to the third-rate . Promoted to
lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...
on 17 March 1716, he was assigned to the fourth-rate in service as part of a
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...
fleet commanded by Admiral John Norris.Heathcote, p. 11 Anson transferred to the aging fourth-rate in March 1718, and saw active service against Spain at the Battle of Cape Passaro in August 1718 during the War of the Quadruple Alliance.Anson 1912, pp. 2–3 He then transferred to the second-rate , flagship of Admiral George Byng, in October 1719. Anson was promoted to
commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...
in June 1722 and given command of the small 8-gun HMS ''Weazel''. Anson's orders were to suppress smuggling between Britain and Holland, a task he swiftly and effectively performed. In recognition of his efforts he was promoted to the rank of
post-captain Post-captain or post captain is an obsolete alternative form of the rank of captain in the Royal Navy. The term "post-captain" was descriptive only; it was never used as a title in the form "Post-Captain John Smith". The term served to dis ...
in February 1723 and given command of the 32-gun sixth-rate HMS ''Scarborough'' with orders to escort British merchant convoys from the Carolinas. (The Ansonborough district of Charleston,
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
, still commemorates his time there.) He transferred to the command of the sixth-rate HMS ''Garland'', still on the Carolinas station, in July 1728, then to the command of the fifth-rate HMS ''Diamond'' in the Channel Fleet in 1730, and to the command of the sixth-rate HMS ''Squirrel'' back on the Carolinas station in 1731. He was given command of the 60-gun third-rate 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 South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
at the outset of the
War of Jenkins' Ear The War of Jenkins' Ear was fought by Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and History of Spain (1700–1808), Spain between 1739 and 1748. The majority of the fighting took place in Viceroyalty of New Granada, New Granada and the Caribbean ...
.Heathcote, p. 12


Voyage around the world

After setting off later than planned, Anson's squadron encountered successive disasters. 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. Two of his vessels, the fifth-rate and the fourth-rate , failed to round Cape Horn and returned home. Meanwhile, the sixth-rate was wrecked off the coast of
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
, where the crew subsequently mutinied. By the time Anson reached the
Juan Fernández Islands The Juan Fernández Islands () are a sparsely inhabited series of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, reliant on tourism and fishing. Situated off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic islands: Robinson Crusoe Island, R ...
in June 1741, only three of his six ships remained (HMS ''Centurion'', the fourth-rate , and the sloop HMS ''Tryall''), while the strength of his crews had fallen from 961 to 335. In the absence of any effective Spanish force on the coast, he was able to harass the enemy and to sack the small port city of Paita in
Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
in November 1741. 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''. He rested at the island of Tinian, and then made his way to
Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...
in November 1742. After considerable difficulties with the Chinese, he sailed again with his one remaining vessel to cruise in search of one of the
Manila galleon The Manila galleon (; ) refers to the Spain, Spanish trading Sailing ship, ships that linked the Philippines in the Spanish East Indies to Mexico (New Spain), across the Pacific Ocean. The ships made one or two round-trip voyages per year betwe ...
s that conducted the trade between
Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
and the Chinese merchants in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, where he captured the ''Nuestra Señora de Covadonga'' with 1,313,843 pieces of eight on board, which he had encountered off Cape Espiritu Santo on 20 June 1743. The charts captured with the ship added many islands (and phantom islands) to the British knowledge of the Pacific, including the so-called Anson Archipelago. Anson took his prize back to Macau, sold her cargo to the Chinese, kept the specie, and sailed for England via the
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...
. Passing by means of a thick fog a French fleet then patrolling the Channel, he reached England on 15 June 1744. The
prize money Prize money refers in particular to naval prize money, usually arising in naval warfare, but also in other circumstances. It was a monetary reward paid in accordance with the prize law of a belligerent state to the crew of a ship belonging to ...
earned from the capture of the galleon made Anson a rich man for life and bought him considerable political influence. He initially refused promotion to Rear-Admiral of the Blue however, out of anger that the Admiralty refused to sanction a captain's commission he had given one of his officers.


Naval command


Senior officer

Anson was elected Member of Parliament for Hedon in the
East Riding of Yorkshire The East Riding of Yorkshire, often abbreviated to the East Riding or East Yorkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It borders North Yorkshire to the north and west, S ...
in 1744. He joined the Board of Admiralty led by the Duke of Bedford in December 1744. Promoted to Rear-Admiral of the White on 23 April 1745 and to vice-admiral of the blue in July 1745, he took command of the Western Squadron, with his flag in the third-rate , in July 1746. Anson commanded the fleet that defeated the Marquis de la Jonquière at the First Battle of Cape Finisterre in May 1747 during the
War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...
. His force captured the entire French squadron: four ships of the line, two frigates, and six merchantmenHeathcote, p. 13 The treasure amounted to £300,000. He was elevated to the
peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...
as ''Baron Anson'', ''of Soberton, in the
County A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
of
Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...
'', on 11 June 1747. In 1748, the memoir of Anson's circumnavigation—''Voyage Round the World in the Years MDCCXL, I, II, III, IV''—was published, having been edited from his notes and Richard Walter's journals by Benjamin Robins. It was a vast popular and commercial success. He was promoted to admiral of the blue on 12 May 1748 and became Vice-Admiral of Great Britain on 4 July 1749. He was advanced to Senior Naval Lord on the Admiralty Board in November 1749.


First Lord of the Admiralty

Anson became First Lord of the Admiralty in the Broad Bottom Ministry in June 1751 and continued to serve during the first Newcastle ministry. Among his reforms was the removal of corrupt defence contractors, improved medical care, submitting a revision of the Articles of War to Parliament so tightening discipline throughout the Navy, uniforms for commissioned officers, the transfer of the
Marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...
from Army to Navy authority and a system for rating ships according to their number of guns. Anson oversaw the Navy for much of the
Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
, and established a permanent squadron at Devonport which could patrol the western approaches to both Britain and France. He was particularly concerned at the prospect of a French invasion of the
British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...
which led him to keep a large force in the
English Channel The English Channel, also known as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Southern England from northern France. It links to the southern part of the North Sea by the Strait of Dover at its northeastern end. It is the busi ...
. In 1756 he was criticised for not sending enough ships with Admiral Byng to relieve Minorca because he wanted to protect Britain from a threatened invasion, only to see Byng fail to save Minorca while no invasion attempt materialised. He left the Admiralty when the Newcastle ministry fell in November 1756 and then served again as First Lord when the Pitt–Newcastle ministry was created in June 1757. In July 1758, after Edward Hawke had decided to strike his flag and return to port over a misunderstanding at which he took offence, Anson hoisted his own flag in the first-rate and took over command of the Western Squadron again. Anson oversaw Britain's naval response to a more serious French invasion attempt in 1759. He instituted a close blockade of the French coast, which proved crippling to the French economy and ensured no invasion fleet could slip out undetected. The British victories at the Battle of Lagos in August 1759 and the Battle of Quiberon Bay in November 1759 ended any realistic chance of a major invasion of the British Isles. As well as securing home defence, Anson co-ordinated with William Pitt a series of British attacks on French colonies around the globe. By 1760 the British had captured
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
,
Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...
and
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...
from the French, and followed it up by capturing Belle Île and Dominica in 1761. In 1762 the entry of Spain into the war offered further chances for British expeditions. Anson was the architect of a plan to seize Manila in the Philippines and, using the idea and plans of Admiral Sir Charles Knowles to capture Havana. Anson had been concerned that the combined strength of the French and Spanish navies would overpower Britain, but he still threw himself into the task of directing these expeditions. The British also captured Martinique and Grenada in the French West Indies. Anson was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 30 July 1761. His last service was to convey Queen Charlotte to England. He died at Moor Park in Hertfordshire on 6 June 1762 and was buried at St Michael and All Angels’ Church in Colwich, Staffordshire. Places named after him include Anson County, North Carolina and Anson, Maine. Eight warships of the Royal Navy have also been named after him. Anson was a prominent figure in Britain throughout his life, having earned nicknames such as "Father of the British Navy" and accomplishing a wide range of arduous tasks throughout his career, but in the last decades of his life, his fame waned.


Family

In April 1748, Anson married Lady Elizabeth Yorke, daughter of Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke; they had no children.


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * Attribution *


Further reading

* *


External links

*
Anson's Voyage Round the World
by Richard Walter, 1901, from
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* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Anson, George Anson, 1st Baron 1697 births 1762 deaths Barons in the Peerage of Great Britain Peers of Great Britain created by George II Circumnavigators of the globe Lords of the Admiralty Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1741–1747 Royal Navy admirals of the fleet Fellows of the Royal Society George British military personnel of the War of the Quadruple Alliance British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession Royal Navy personnel of the War of the Austrian Succession Royal Navy personnel of the Seven Years' War Burials in Staffordshire People from the Borough of Stafford Military personnel from Staffordshire