Anson's broad pennant, and
had imitated it so exactly that he thereby decoyed the "Pearl", one of
our squadron, within gunshot of him before the captain of the Pearl was
able to discover his mistake.
(*Note. The South Sea Company was formed in 1711 on the model of the East
India Company to trade in the Pacific; and on the conclusion of the
Treaty of Utrecht it was given the monopoly of the English trade with the
Spanish coasts of America. The grant of certain privileges by Government
led to wild speculation in its shares which gave rise to the famous South
Sea Bubble of 1720.)
On the 18th of September, 1740, the squadron weighed from St. Helens with
a contrary wind. It consisted of five men-of-war, a sloop-of-war, and two
victualling ships. They were the Centurion, of 60 guns, 400 men, George
Anson, Esquire, commander; the "Gloucester", of 50 guns, 300 men, Richard
Norris, commander; the "Severn", of 50 guns, 300 men, the Honourable
Edward Legg, commander; the Pearl, of 40 guns, 250 men, Matthew Mitchel,
commander; the "Wager", of 28 guns, 160 men, Dandy Kidd, commander; and
the "Trial", sloop, of 8 guns, 100 men, the Honourable John Murray,
commander. The two victuallers were pinks, the largest about 400 and the
other about 200 tons burthen; these were to attend us till the provisions
we had taken on board were so far consumed as to make room for the
additional quantity they carried with them, which when we had taken into
our ships they were to be discharged.
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