Note 1 — LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE INDIA COUNCIL

War had been declared by England against Spain in October, 1739, in consequence of injuries inflicted on British commerce in the West Indies; but letters of marque and reprisal had been issued by the English government in July preceding, under which Captain Edward Vernon captured the city of Portobello (November 22, 1739), and the castle at Cartagena. Captain George Anson also was placed in command of a large fleet, to harass the Spaniards along the coast of Peru, then to proceed northward, attack Panama, and capture the Spanish treasure-fleet, in which proceedings Vernon was to coöperate with him. Anson’s fleet was broken up by storms and sickness, and the two commanders failed to make connections; so Anson, after various depredations on the western coast of South America, sailed to China, where he repaired his ship. Then he set out to meet the Spanish galleon from Acapulco, the “Covadonga;” and on June 30, 1743, Anson captured this vessel after a hot fight, with over 1,500,000 pesos of silver, mostly in coin. To avenge this loss, a squadron of four ships (the one here mentioned in our text) was despatched by the Manila government in pursuit of Anson; they went to China, but could not find the Englishman, who had sailed for his own country. ↑