Naval combat of the HMS Centurion

The Engagement of the Centurion and Acapulco off Cape Espiritu Santo, in which the latter was taken. Engraved for Moore's Voyages and Travels. London, circa 1778. Copper engraving. Sheet dimensions: 36.6 x 22.9 cm. Plate mark dimensions: 27.7 x 17 cm. Fine margins and beautiful inking. This print depicts the naval combat of the HMS Centurion, commanded by Commodore George Anson, against the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Covadonga, off Cape Espiritu Santo (Philippines), on June 20, 1743. This famous capture, a major episode of Anson's circumnavigation, allowed the British to seize the Manila galleon, which was loaded with a significant cargo of silver. The plate was published in the travel narratives of John Hamilton Moore. A beautiful 18th-century maritime print.