During the night of 22 October 1707 , the isles were the scene of one of the worst maritime disasters in British history , when out of a fleet of 21 Royal Navy ships headed from Gibraltar to Portsmouth , six were driven onto the cliffs . Four of the ships sank or capsized , with at least 1,450 dead , including the commanding admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell
one of the worst maritime disasters
Scilly naval disaster of 1707
Isles of Scilly