An accomplished three-quarter length mezzotint portrait of Admiral Sir Charles Wager (1666-1743), widely regarded as the most skilled and capable naval commander of the his generation. Wager, by all accounts an astute and intelligent man, rose through the ranks to a position of wide reaching authority within the Admiralty.

An accomplished three-quarter length mezzotint portrait of Admiral Sir Charles Wager (1666-1743), widely regarded as the most skilled and capable naval commander of the his generation. Wager, by all accounts an astute and intelligent man, rose through the ranks to a position of wide reaching authority within the Admiralty.

Wager began his training in the merchant service and later joined the Royal Navy. In 1707 he was entrusted with the West Indies command, and during his tenure the Spanish fleet carrying gold and silver from South America suffered considerable losses. Under Wager's command the navy destroyed the San Josef, sunk with 700 hands, and captured the rich prize Santa Cruz. Wager won fame and personal fortune from the expedition and spent many years ashore before returning to sea in 1726 in the conflict between Sweden and Russia.

Wager's knowledge, affability and experience were unmatched: 'no other first lord of the eighteenth century had so comprehensive a knowledge of maritime geography, seaborne commerce, and colonial circumstances. It seems that when anyone in government needed an opinion touching these subjects Wager was asked… he was, in effect, a one-man bureau of maritime intelligence' (DNB). The ill fated vessel Wager, of Anson's squadron, was named in his honour.