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Prologue
Part One: The Wooden World

The short prologue of The Wager reveals the end of the story that the book tells. It gives an account of the two groups of survivors of a British ship, the Wager, who arrive six months apart in Brazil and Chile. This approach removes much of the suspense that would ordinarily accompany the story of a shipwreck. Grann explains that this unconventional approach to storytelling has a purpose: The Wager is not a story about a shipwreck, but rather a story about stories. Although the ill-fated journey of the Wager and the shipwreck’s aftermath propel the narrative forward, the thematic focus is on stories, from those told by the ship’s surviving crew to the official historical record told by imperial Britain. Grann is also interested in the stories that remain untold, and what these omissions reveal about history. The Prologue and Part One: The Wooden World provide the context for the book’s central figures, who take distinct and often conflicting approaches to telling the story of the Wager.

In Chapter 1: The First Lieutenant, Grann introduces the central characters, David Cheap and George Anson, who serve as contrasts to one another. Both men are career seamen and neither has led a major naval operation or earned a significant award for valor, but both are considered competent. Both men lack the social status to be easily promoted, but the British Admiralty recognize Anson’s exceptional skill as a sailor. Anson has just been promoted to commodore of the squadron that includes the Wager. He is popular with younger sailors, who see him as a mentor and respect that he works alongside them instead of simply giving orders. This demonstrates the importance of personal character in leadership. Anson is cool under pressure and not prideful about climbing the naval rankings. Cheap is his right-hand man and subordinate, temperamental and consumed with dreams of personal heroism. After Cheap’s brother inherits the family’s estate, Cheap racks up debts on land and finds hope for escape in life as a sailor. Starting out as first lieutenant, Cheap eventually becomes the struggling captain of the Wager and the book’s central figure. But, even at sea, Cheap is disappointed that he has not accomplished enough to earn admiration or a promotion to captain. Hoping to maintain his superior status among his crew, Cheap treats them as subordinates and refuses to do work beneath his rank.

Chapters 2 and 3 introduce John Byron and John Bulkeley, who both keep detailed written records of their time on the Wager and as castaways after the ship wrecks. This record-keeping makes the two men essential to the story. Chapter 2: A Gentleman Volunteer focuses on 16-year-old Byron, the midshipman of the Wager and the son of a nobleman. Byron’s higher social status reveals how the social hierarchy onboard a British Navy ship differs from that on land. As a sailor, Byron’s nobility does not matter. He sleeps in a hammock below the lower deck in an undesirable part of the ship, which places him at the very bottom of the social world at sea. Chapter 3: The Gunner introduces John Bulkeley, an experienced sailor who serves as Cheap’s antagonist  throughout the text. As conditions grow more dire, Bulkeley’s natural aptitude for leadership and his unwillingness to flatter his superiors will set Cheap’s insecurity, paranoia, and obsession with the chain of command in sharp relief. By recording their experiences in writing, Byron and Bulkeley gain the opportunity to influence history. Their social positions both among the ship’s crew and on land affect how their personal stories shape the historical narrative.

Grann describes the life of a seaman as highly undesirable, emphasizing that debts, threats, and other negative forces often pressure men to become sailors. Part One sketches the contours of the “wooden world” of life on a ship, from the crew’s cramped sleeping quarters to the diseases that are just as dangerous as the worst weather on the open sea. As a result of these conditions, it is difficult for a ship’s officers to muster up a full complement of recruits, and many, including that of the Wager, rely on armed press gangs to kidnap seamen on land and force them into service on a ship. However, the romanticism and adventure of serving on a ship is enough to entice some men into seafaring, including Byron. Though Byron’s inclination for seafaring is unusual and even unseemly for men of his noble status, he is an avid reader of books about sailors and, in volunteering for the navy, hopes to experience some of the sea’s mysterious allure for himself.

The Wager is one ship in a squadron that includes five men-of-war (the Gloucester, the Pearl, the Severn, the Wager, and the impressively grand Centurion) and three smaller vessels (cargo ships the Anna and the Industry, and scouting sloop the Trial). Led by Commodore Anson, the fleet has been ordered to carry out a secret mission on behalf of Great Britain as part of an imperialist war with Spain known as the War of Jenkins’ Ear. One part of their mission is to steal treasure from a Spanish ship on its way from Mexico to the Philippines. The British Navy also orders Anson to destroy Spanish ships along the coast of South America to weaken Spain’s colonial power in the region. England and Spain fight to control as much of the world as possible to reap the benefits of each location’s resources. Grann describes this conflict as self-serving but emphasizes that each imperial power masks its selfish aims in the pretense of spreading “civilization.” This logic will appear increasingly absurd over the course of The Wager as Cheap’s crew descends into disorder and encounters skilled Indigenous people living in functional societies.

The Wager faces trouble in the months leading up to its departure, which adds to the sense of foreboding that surrounds the ship’s imminent journey. The fleet’s rotting, worm-eaten ships need extensive repairs, and the frozen Thames River traps the Wager in ice for two months before the squadron finally sets sail on September 18, 1740. Problems continue on the open sea, with the captain of the Gloucester resigning less than two months into the journey. Cheap benefits by being promoted to captain of the scouting ship, the Trial, a meaningful step toward fulfilling his dreams of glory on the high seas, but the overall mission feels doomed, says Grann. As the fleet sails toward the dangerous Cape Horn, Captain Dandy Kidd of the Pearl dies, his last words a chilling prophecy that the expedition will end in disaster. When the squadron’s leadership changes again, Cheap is promoted to captain of the Wager, a move Grann frames as the first true test of his ability to lead.

Next section Part Two

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