The Centurion’s first lieutenant is named David Cheap. His motive for joining the ship was to escape money problems and a fight with his brother James over a family inheritance. Their father had been a minor Scottish nobleman, the Laird of Rossie; since David was the younger son, he received nothing after their father’s death. He had been serving under the captain, George Anson, who had been promoted to the rank of commodore. Cheap hoped that, after the promotion, Anson would make him a captain.

At this time, Britain was at war with Spain. The war was in the context of the competition between European powers over wealth taken from colonial expansion. This particular conflict started in 1739, but its roots can be traced back to 1731 when a British merchant captain, Robert Jenkins, had his ear cut off by a Spanish officer. Hence the war was called the War of Jenkins’ Ear. During the war, Anson was put in charge of five warships assigned to intercept Spanish ships carrying wealth from South and Central America. However, the ships were not ready to sail and the funds to fix the ships were lacking.