Home : Book details : Book description

Description of  Log of the Centurion: Based on the original papers of Captain Philip Saumarez on board HMS Centurion

Fascinated about the expeditions of Sir Francis Drake and Captain James Cook? Then youll love this account of the Centurions 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 Seora 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 (Crusoes island), Madeira, and other exotic places are vividly described. Regis A. Courtemanche, History: Reviews of New Books