page_title: Wager Mutiny
section_title: The rounding of the Horn
hierarchical_section_title: Wager Mutiny / The rounding of the Horn
context_page_description: The Wager Mutiny was the mutiny of the crew of the British war ship HMS Wager after she was wrecked on a desolate island off the south coast of Chile in 1741. The ship was part of a squadron commanded by George Anson and bound to attack Spanish interests in the Pacific. Wager lost contact with the squadron while rounding Cape Horn, ran aground, and wrecked on the island in May 1741. The main body of the crew mutinied against Captain David Cheap, abandoned him and his loyal crew members, and returned to England in a modified open boat via the Strait of Magellan. Most of the crew died on the journey, but the mutiny's ring-leaders were among those who survived.
  Captain Cheap and a smaller group made their way north to an inhabited region of Chile, guided by natives. Most of them also died on their journey, but Cheap and three others survived and returned to England in 1745, two years after the mutineers. The adventures of the crew of the Wager were a public sensation. They inspired many narratives written by survivors and others.
context_section_description: The delays of the voyage were most keenly felt when the squadron rounded the Horn. The weather conditions were atrocious; high sea states and contrary winds meant that progress west was very slow. Added to this was the deteriorating health of the crew: because of scurvy, few able-bodied seamen were available to work the ship and carry out running repairs to the continually battered rigging.
  After many weeks working westwards to clear the Horn, the squadron turned north when navigational reckoning suggested enough westerly had been made. At this time latitudinal determination was relatively easy with the use of a sextant; however, longitudinal determination was much harder to predict: it required accurate time-pieces or a good view of the stars on stable ground, neither of which were available to the squadron. Longitude was predicted by dead reckoning, an impossible task given the storm conditions, strong currents and length of time involved. The intention was to turn north only when Anson was reasonably certain that the Horn had been cleared.
  The result was nearly a complete disaster. In the middle of the night, the moon shone through the cloud for a few minutes, revealing to diligent sentinels aboard Anna towering waves breaking onto the Patagonian coastline. Anna fired guns and set up lights to warn the other ships of the danger. Without this sighting, the whole of Anson's squadron would have been wrecked, with the likely loss of all hands. This was a severe disappointment. The ships turned around and headed south again into huge seas and a foul wind. During one particularly severe night, Wager became separated from the rest of the squadron, and would never see it again.
caption: Cape Horn
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