George Anson, 1st Baron Anson

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George Anson

George Anson, 1st Baron Anson (born April 23, 1697 in Shugborough near Colwich , Staffordshire , †  June 6, 1762 in Moor Park, Hertfordshire ) was a British admiral and an important theoretician of naval warfare.

In 1739 he received command of a squadron that was supposed to disrupt trade and the settlements of the Spaniards . He left England on September 18, 1740, circumnavigated Cape Horn , burned the city of Payta in Peru , then sailed to the Philippines and arrived back in England on June 15, 1744. This trip was also productive for contemporary geography , because Anson took care of the detailed investigation of the Isla Robinson Crusoe and the Mariana Islands in particular . Of the original 1,900 seafarers, only about 500 survived the voyage. Most died of starvation and scurvy along the way . He was able to make up for this disaster through rich booty and the implementation of his experience in the reorganization of the British Navy in the following years.

The naval preacher Richard Walter wrote a report on the expedition following Anson's instructions ( Voyage round the world London 1748). This report gained wide circulation. The German edition, published in 1763 ff., Achieved several editions. The overcoming of scurvy described by Anson by eating fresh plants on Robinson Crusoe Island prompted James Lind to make groundbreaking medical discoveries in 1753.

Anson was promoted to Rear Admiral of the Blue Flag in 1744 and the White Flag in 1746. On May 3, 1747, he defeated the French fleet at Cape Finisterre under Admiral Marquis de Taffanel de La Jonquière , capturing seven French merchant ships, four ships of the line and two frigates. For this he was given the hereditary title of nobility Baron Anson , of Soberton in the County of Southampton on June 11, 1747 . In 1751 Anson was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty . In this position he initiated a major reform of the British Navy . In 1761, Anson became an admiral.

George Anson died on June 6, 1762 in his country estate, Moor Park in Hertfordshire.

The English poet and squire Richard Owen Cambridge , who was friends with a number of high-ranking naval officers, was also among his friends. Cambridge's interest in naval matters led to his only historical work shortly before Anson's death: An account of the war in India between the English and French, on the coast of Coromandel, from the year 1750 to the year 1760. Together with a relation of the late remarkable events on the Malabar coast, and the expeditions to Golconda and Surat . T. Jefferys, London 1761.

Honors

Seven ships of the British Royal Navy were named HMS Anson after him.

literature

  • George Anson. Richard Walter: A voyage round the world in the years MDCCXL, I, II, III, IV . Compiled from his papers and materials, by Richard Walter. Illustrated with forty-two copper plates. London: printed for the author 1749.
  • George Anson; Richard Walter: The Lord's Admiral Lord Anson's journey around the world, which he undertook as Commander-in-Chief of a squadron of Sr. Great Britain's Majesty warships that were sent for an operation in the South Seas in the years 1740, 41, 42, 43, 44 . Verlag Neues Leben Berlin 1984. - This abridged edition is based on the German translation from 1749.
  • John Barrow : The Life of George Lord Anson. John Murray, London 1839 (Reprinted by Elibron Classics, 2000. ISBN 1-4021-8604-5 as paperback or ISBN 1-4212-9073-1 as hardcover)
  • Fritz Brustat-Naval: Capture to distant seas. The Anson Story 1740/44 . Ullstein Frankfurt / M. 1986, ISBN 3-548-20637-9 .
  • Glyn Williams: The British Crown's Last Pirate. Captain Anson and the Curse of the Sea. Argon Verlag Berlin 2000. ISBN 3-87024-521-2 .
  • Verne, Jules: The Great Navigators of the 18th Century, Volume 1.
  • Heinrich Pleticha, Siegfried Augustin: Lexicon of adventure and travel literature from Africa to Winnetou. Edition Erdmann in K. Thienemanns Verlag, Stuttgart, Vienna, Bern 1999, ISBN 3 522 60002 9

Web links

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predecessor Office successor
John Montagu First Lord of the Admiralty
1751–1756
Richard Grenville-Temple
Daniel Finch First Lord of the Admiralty
1757–1762
George Montagu-Dunk