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Log of the Centurion
Fascinated by the expeditions of Sir Francis Drake and Captain James Cook?
Then you’ll love this account of the Centurion’s circumnavigation of the globe, one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of maritime exploration and naval warfare.
In 1740, George Anson and his fleet set off to harass Spanish commerce in the Pacific and attack towns on the coasts of Chile and Peru.
Four years later, over half the men had died and of the seven ships which left Portsmouth only the Centurion had completed its objective of attacking Spanish possessions around the globe.
Although this journey came at the cost of numerous lives and ships, the Centurion had succeeded in capturing the biggest prize of all time, the Acapulco galleon.
Captain Philip Saumarez kept a daily record of the voyage around the world in his four log books, which along with a wealth of letters and documents give brilliant insight into life aboard these ships.
Leo Heaps has compiled and edited these manuscripts to provide a complete chronicle of the expedition which saw men decimated by scurvy, mutinies among marooned sailors, ships battered by mountainous waves around Cape Horn and eventual glory in the capture of the gold-laden Nuestra Señora de la Covadonga.
Log of the Centurion is a unique account of a daring maritime expedition across the high seas of the globe in the mid-eighteenth century.
“It is a tribute to her officers that she not only captured the greatest prize at sea, but that she returned at all.” Christopher Lloyd, former Professor of History at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich
“It is an absorbing tale … The merit of this book lies in its realistic evocation of the mid-18th century. We have fine descriptions of China and the delicate negotiations conducted with the Manchus for supplies and repairs. Patagonia, Juan Fernandez (Crusoe’s island), Madeira, and other exotic places are vividly described.” Regis A. Courtemanche, History: Reviews of New Books
Then you’ll love this account of the Centurion’s circumnavigation of the globe, one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of maritime exploration and naval warfare.
In 1740, George Anson and his fleet set off to harass Spanish commerce in the Pacific and attack towns on the coasts of Chile and Peru.
Four years later, over half the men had died and of the seven ships which left Portsmouth only the Centurion had completed its objective of attacking Spanish possessions around the globe.
Although this journey came at the cost of numerous lives and ships, the Centurion had succeeded in capturing the biggest prize of all time, the Acapulco galleon.
Captain Philip Saumarez kept a daily record of the voyage around the world in his four log books, which along with a wealth of letters and documents give brilliant insight into life aboard these ships.
Leo Heaps has compiled and edited these manuscripts to provide a complete chronicle of the expedition which saw men decimated by scurvy, mutinies among marooned sailors, ships battered by mountainous waves around Cape Horn and eventual glory in the capture of the gold-laden Nuestra Señora de la Covadonga.
Log of the Centurion is a unique account of a daring maritime expedition across the high seas of the globe in the mid-eighteenth century.
“It is a tribute to her officers that she not only captured the greatest prize at sea, but that she returned at all.” Christopher Lloyd, former Professor of History at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich
“It is an absorbing tale … The merit of this book lies in its realistic evocation of the mid-18th century. We have fine descriptions of China and the delicate negotiations conducted with the Manchus for supplies and repairs. Patagonia, Juan Fernandez (Crusoe’s island), Madeira, and other exotic places are vividly described.” Regis A. Courtemanche, History: Reviews of New Books
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 14, 2021
An unexpectedly good read about a historical event of which I had previously known nothing. In 1739 Britain and Spain commenced hostilities in the now almost totally forgotten “War of Jenkins’ Ear”. In Britain the Admiralty decided to launch an attack on Spain’s Caribbean ports, but in a secondary manoeuvre, sent six warships (and two supply ships) round Cape Horn to raid Spanish shipping in the Pacific and attack towns on the west coast of South America. The fleet was commanded by Commodore George Anson, but this book is based on the log kept by one of his officers, Philip Saumarez, a native of Guernsey.
The equipping and planning of the expedition beggars belief. Anson was supposed to be given 500 marines to attack Spanish ports, but there were no troops to spare so he was allocated 500 Chelsea Pensioners – aged veterans of previous conflicts, many of whom were sick or disabled. About half of them disappeared when they heard the news, but 259 were forced on board the ships. Many were over 70 and some were carried on by stretcher. The shortfall was made up from the other end of the age spectrum, from young boys who had been dragooned, and many of these had never fired a gun. The expedition then tried to round the Horn in March and April 1741, apparently the worst time of year to attempt that voyage. Tremendous storms and mountainous seas stopped them making any progress for almost two months, during which hundreds of men died from scurvy. Two of the ships turned back and one was wrecked, but once the others made it into the Pacific, the remainder of the story is quite remarkable.
The book consists of extracts from Saumarez’s log together with material from the author, presumably drawn from other sources. I thought it started rather slowly, with the log consisting largely of positional reports, descriptions of weather conditions, and a daily list of those sailors and soldiers who “departed this life”. However, the book really livens up once the ships managed to resupply and start on their mission. Perhaps their number one aim was the capture of the “Manila Galleon”, ships that travelled between Manila and Acapulco, taking valuable spices, silks and porcelain, which were paid for in gold and silver from Mexico. The amount of the latter carried on the return journey was legendary.
Normally I don’t worry about spoilers in works of non-fiction, but parts of this read like a novel for me, so I won’t go into the rest of the events. I’ll just say that I think this would be a really good read for anyone interested in naval history.
Those 18th century sailors were a tough lot.
The equipping and planning of the expedition beggars belief. Anson was supposed to be given 500 marines to attack Spanish ports, but there were no troops to spare so he was allocated 500 Chelsea Pensioners – aged veterans of previous conflicts, many of whom were sick or disabled. About half of them disappeared when they heard the news, but 259 were forced on board the ships. Many were over 70 and some were carried on by stretcher. The shortfall was made up from the other end of the age spectrum, from young boys who had been dragooned, and many of these had never fired a gun. The expedition then tried to round the Horn in March and April 1741, apparently the worst time of year to attempt that voyage. Tremendous storms and mountainous seas stopped them making any progress for almost two months, during which hundreds of men died from scurvy. Two of the ships turned back and one was wrecked, but once the others made it into the Pacific, the remainder of the story is quite remarkable.
The book consists of extracts from Saumarez’s log together with material from the author, presumably drawn from other sources. I thought it started rather slowly, with the log consisting largely of positional reports, descriptions of weather conditions, and a daily list of those sailors and soldiers who “departed this life”. However, the book really livens up once the ships managed to resupply and start on their mission. Perhaps their number one aim was the capture of the “Manila Galleon”, ships that travelled between Manila and Acapulco, taking valuable spices, silks and porcelain, which were paid for in gold and silver from Mexico. The amount of the latter carried on the return journey was legendary.
Normally I don’t worry about spoilers in works of non-fiction, but parts of this read like a novel for me, so I won’t go into the rest of the events. I’ll just say that I think this would be a really good read for anyone interested in naval history.
Those 18th century sailors were a tough lot.
October 19, 2021
Published in 1974, 25 year earlier than “The Prize of All the Oceans” by Glyn Williams, I found this book outstanding. Leo Heaps reveals a lot of information regarding the voyage which was not stated in any previous researches that I have read, as well as it EXPLAINS STUFF, seriously. When I am reading a research regarding Anson’s voyage I shall not necessarily be a marine historian: I might not now what a fathom is or what scurvy does to a person and why, although Heaps writes good descriptions of it. I found this book very entertaining and easy to read (rare occasion for a historical book). It perfectly transition between the actual log and the explanatory comments, which I loved a lot. I would recommend this to anyone who is studying Naval History and is NEW to it (like me). Some people are not experts and I love that this is the first ever Naval History book I have read without opening Google every 2 pages. My research is now concluded and I am ready to write a proper paper on the topic — without this book, it would have been a nightmare.
August 5, 2020
A fascinating insight into Commodore Anson's journey around the world. The first circumnavigation known but no at all planned. After losing three of his five ships going around the around the Cape Horn. The main aim was to plunder the Manilla / Acapulco Galleon. They succeeded eventually but in the Western Pacific. Headed home back via Macao and the Cape of Good Hope. The 'plunder' amounted to, in today's terms, £50 million of gold and silver. I am not attempting to ruin the outcome of the book as these facts are clearly stated in the early narratives. What makes the book so interesting is that most of the content is taken from the logs of James Saumarez. He logs, positions references, Points of Reference are fascinating and informative. So good are they that you can follow the boat around the world with the aid of Google Earth. Life for the common sailor was a miserable experience.
June 26, 2022
Log of the Centurion: Based on the original papers of Captain Philip Saumarez on board HMS Centurion, Lord Anson's flagship during his circumnavigation, 1740-1744 (The Age of Sail). This is a story of old sailing ships and the harden men that made up the crew. Since the Centurion was a Man of War she carried provisions for meeting other nations warships. Food on board was divided in order of rank, the crew got the worst provision. The book was written using the logbook of Captain Phillip Saumarez a very good leader. This circumnavigation was done at a time when ships had accurate latitude measurements, north to south, but did not have longitude reading, east to west, measurements. This is a great story of men and the sea.
May 14, 2025
This is a book that will not appeal to many readers as it has an unusual format. At its heart it is a fine history book outlining the story of an extraordinary voyage, which involved amazing fortitude and bravery. The obstacles and hardship involved are hard to comprehend.
The book basically draws on the detailed log written at the time by the 1st Lieutenant of HMS Centurion interspersed with explanations from the co-author Leo Heaps. I found it to be compelling but there were periods where I found myself speed reading when at times there were entries on successive days that dealt with very similar detail.
The book basically draws on the detailed log written at the time by the 1st Lieutenant of HMS Centurion interspersed with explanations from the co-author Leo Heaps. I found it to be compelling but there were periods where I found myself speed reading when at times there were entries on successive days that dealt with very similar detail.
September 15, 2020
An lightening look at life award of British men of war In 1740
In This book, Mr. Heaps Presents Mr. some more as Telling all the long and perilous voyage of the Centurion, the voyage around the world in search of The Spanish ships and the gold. The book goes into considerable detail About the lives of the ship's crew, life on board the vessel , early commerce with China And the cat and mouse game played with the Spanish.
In This book, Mr. Heaps Presents Mr. some more as Telling all the long and perilous voyage of the Centurion, the voyage around the world in search of The Spanish ships and the gold. The book goes into considerable detail About the lives of the ship's crew, life on board the vessel , early commerce with China And the cat and mouse game played with the Spanish.
November 9, 2022
What a dreadful life
What a dreadful life on board ship,I can understand the poor wretches having the queens shilling pressed into their hands while drunk the chances of survival were very low,scurvy alone will take half the crew.It's a must read.
What a dreadful life on board ship,I can understand the poor wretches having the queens shilling pressed into their hands while drunk the chances of survival were very low,scurvy alone will take half the crew.It's a must read.
April 8, 2020
Hardship is a English seaman.
Twas worth the effort to read this four hundred and,what, sixty years old saga. I'm proud to be descendents from such men.
Twas worth the effort to read this four hundred and,what, sixty years old saga. I'm proud to be descendents from such men.
May 16, 2020
One of the best sea voyage account to read, but still a pain to read as well.
Read
December 30, 2020Great book
Men of iron ,ships of wood .Brilliant read ,hard to believe they ever got back home in one piece.or some of them
Men of iron ,ships of wood .Brilliant read ,hard to believe they ever got back home in one piece.or some of them
March 26, 2021
Fun to read a contemporary account of a historical event.
July 20, 2017
Very enjoyable read. This is the sort of detail I love but it isn't for everyone. The book does a good job of emphasising the extreme hardships these circumnavigators suffered and the terrible loss of life (due in no small part from filling the ships with elderly often disabled pensioners).
The continuity of circumnavigating personnel from this voyage through to Cook and beyond should be noted. Byron was with Anson, then Carteret, Gower and Gore were with Byron, then Gower with Carteret, Gore with Cook etc., building a store of knowledge that each could pass on to the next generation of navigators.
The continuity of circumnavigating personnel from this voyage through to Cook and beyond should be noted. Byron was with Anson, then Carteret, Gower and Gore were with Byron, then Gower with Carteret, Gore with Cook etc., building a store of knowledge that each could pass on to the next generation of navigators.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews