Wager Mutiny

The Wager Mutiny was the mutiny of the crew of HMS Wager after she was wrecked on a desolate island off the west 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 whilst rounding Cape Horn, ran aground and wrecked on the west coast of Chile in May 1741. The main body of the crew mutinied against the captain, David Cheap, abandoned him and his loyal crew members, and returned in a modified open boat to England via the Strait of Magellan. Though most died on the journey, some survived, including the ring-leaders.

Captain Cheap and a smaller group, guided by natives, made their way north to an inhabited region of Chile. Most of them also died on their journey, but Cheap and three others survived and eventually 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, including the novel The Unknown Shore (1959) by the celebrated 20th-century author Patrick O'Brian, who based his account on John Byron's memoir, published in 1768.

Wager was originally an East India Company ship, an armed trading vessel built mainly to accommodate large cargoes of goods from the far east, but also capable of carrying significant firepower for self protection on the open seas. The vessel was bought by the Admiralty in 1739 to form part of a squadron under Commodore George Anson to attack Spanish interests on the Pacific west coast of South America.

The total squadron consisted of some 1,980 men (crew plus infantry), of which only 188 would survive the voyage. It was one of the most terrifying, challenging, heroic and adventurous circumnavigations of the globe ever completed. The squadron, including Wager, consisted of six warships and two victuallers (supply ships):

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