One of the worst maritime disasters in British naval history, killing up to 2,000 sailors due to navigational failures.
Key Facts
- Date
- 22 October 1707
- Ships Lost
- 4 Royal Navy warships
- Estimated Death Toll
- 1,400 to 2,000 sailors
- Cause
- Navigation errors, faulty charts, inadequate compasses
- Location
- Rocks off the Isles of Scilly
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Navigators aboard the Royal Navy fleet were unable to accurately determine their positions due to limitations in contemporary navigation technology. Errors in available charts and pilot books, combined with inadequate compasses, led the fleet dangerously off course as it approached the British mainland.
On 22 October 1707, four Royal Navy warships struck rocks off the Isles of Scilly near the British mainland and were wrecked. Between 1,400 and 2,000 sailors perished in the disaster, making it one of the gravest losses of life in British naval history.
The disaster exposed the critical inadequacy of existing navigational methods for determining longitude at sea. It is widely credited with accelerating demand for a reliable solution to the longitude problem, ultimately contributing to the British government's establishment of the Longitude Act in 1714, which offered prizes for practical navigation improvements.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 1,400 (other)
Range: 1,400 – 2,000