Events That Changed the World: the Death of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell
As time passes, events that once changed the course of human events begin to fade in the public’s memory. The determination of longitude was the direct result of a tragic night in 1707, and this is a brief description of what happened.
On the evening of October 22nd, 1707 a tragedy of such catastrophic proportions occurred in the waters off of England, the reverberations are still felt today. Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell was a hero of Britain’s numerous wars, including the Dutch Wars and the War of Spanish Succession. Contemporary paintings show him as portly, with an unsmiling, stern countenance, but he is reputed to have been much loved by those who served under him. In fact, the reverence showed to him by those he led, the people of the country he defended, and his monarch, Queen Anne, is considered to be equal to that of the iconic Horatio Nelson.
The fleet had recently departed from its lackluster campaign against the French at Toulon, and collected in the port below the towering Rock of Gibraltar. Britain typically brought its ships home in September to avoid the severe sea conditions encountered in winter. Shovell had already stayed longer than conventional wisdom considered prudent, but there was more to be done against the French. He decided to split his fleet, leaving roughly half in Gibraltar to continue operations, and the other half, with the Admiral in his 90-gun ship, the Association, to return to England.
Warships that plied the seas during the height of the Baroque period were a marriage of art and might. Ornate, gold gilt carvings adorned the bow and stern and intricately painted frieze covered the upper works. In contrast, the decks were lined with massive cannon, ready to reduce to debris any foe that stood before them. The Association was a perfect example of this marriage with her 90 guns standing ready to hurl destruction at enemy warships and shore installations, and the finest craftsmanship and artwork English artisans could create, gleaming at her sides. A magnificent example of the engineering capabilities of her time, she inspired awe in all that saw her.
The Admiral set sail with his reduced fleet of 21 ships cutting through increasingly rough seas. Conditions only worsened as they proceeded northward towards the English Channel. Visibility dropped so that vessels could barely see each other through the dense fog while seas rose to buffet mercilessly the returning vessels. Without any means of visually determining their position, the ships had to rely on a method called Ôdead reckoning’, calculated from the ship’s last known position and advanced based on estimated speed and course. Admiral Shovell was convinced he was at the entrance to the English Channel and continued his northeasterly heading, leading the fleet. The logbooks of the other ships in company suggest that at least one other member of the convoy of vessels spotted the imminent danger and tried to warn the Association. Cannons were reputedly fired to gain the attention of the men on the Admiral’s ship, but to no avail. Tragedy was about to unfold.
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