Anson commanded the fleet that defeated the French Admiral de la Jonquière at the First Battle of Cape Finisterre in 1747, during the War of the Austrian Succession.

[6] Promoted to lieutenant on 17 March 1716, he was assigned to the fourth-rate HMS Hampshire in service as part of a Baltic Sea fleet commanded by Admiral John Norris.

[7] Anson transferred to the aging fourth-rate HMS Montagu in March 1718, and saw active service against Spain at the Battle of Cape Passaro in August 1718 during the War of the Quadruple Alliance.

In recognition of his efforts he was promoted to the rank of post-captain in February 1723 and given command of the 32-gun sixth-rate HMS Scarborough with orders to escort British merchant convoys from the Carolinas.

In the absence of any effective Spanish force on the coast, he was able to harass the enemy and to sack the small port city of Paita in Peru in November 1741.

[12][13] Anson took his prize back to Macau, sold her cargo to the Chinese, kept the specie, and sailed for England via the Cape of Good Hope.

The prize money earned from the capture of the galleon made Anson a rich man for life[1] and bought him considerable political influence.

"[18] Anson commanded the fleet that defeated the Marquis de la Jonquière at the First Battle of Cape Finisterre in May 1747 during the War of the Austrian Succession.

[21] In 1748, the memoir of Anson's circumnavigation—Voyage Round the World in the Years MDCCXL, I, II, III, IV[22]—was published, having been edited from his notes and Richard Walter's journals by Benjamin Robins.

[19] Anson oversaw the Navy for much of the Seven Years' War, and established a permanent squadron at Devonport which could patrol the western approaches to both Britain and France.

[27] As well as securing home defence, Anson co-ordinated with William Pitt a series of British attacks on French colonies around the globe.

Anson had been concerned that the combined strength of the French and Spanish navies would overpower Britain, but he still threw himself into the task of directing these expeditions.

[3] He died at Moor Park in Hertfordshire on 6 June 1762 and was buried at St Michael and All Angels’ Church in Colwich, Staffordshire.