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Part Three: Castaways

Part Three: Castaways covers the five months that the crew of the Wager spends off the coast of Patagonia on what they call Wager Island, where they attempt to create a society that will help them survive. Out of the 250 men who originally formed the ship’s crew, only 145 have survived to tackle the challenges of the desolate and inhospitable island during the region’s winter, from May 14 to October 14, 1741. When the Wager wrecks, Captain Cheap is immobilized by a nasty shoulder injury and needs to be carried ashore, where he claims the only hut for himself. John Byron and John Bulkeley are among the survivors, as are Lieutenant Baynes, Byron’s friend Henry Cozens, and John Duck, a free Black seaman. Part Three follows Cheap’s deteriorating command over his crew as John Bulkeley’s natural charisma and talent propel him into a de facto leadership position. This shift in power raises questions among the crew, and for Grann, about what qualifies a person to lead. The tense dynamic between Cheap and Bulkeley also reflects one of the book’s overarching arguments about imperialism: like Cheap, Great Britain and other colonial powers have no reasonable justification for ruling over the people they attempt to conquer.

Read an in-depth analysis of John Bulkeley.

After the crew arrives on the island in Chapter 8: Wreckage, Grann points to Cheap’s increasing paranoia, foreshadowing his downfall. On top of immediate concerns for survival, Cheap worries about maintaining order among his men and distancing himself from blame for their misfortunes. Despite the group’s life-threatening circumstances, Cheap still maintains the desperate hope that he will find a way to prove his heroism as captain. Although the Navy’s official chain of command is among the first social structures to dissolve on Wager Island, other social hierarchies persist, with groups of crew members setting up makeshift dwellings based on how they were organized on the ship. This shows how easy it is for the crew to keep their established roles. It also emphasizes just how weak Cheap is as leader, given that the majority of his men turn against him even though they are desperate to maintain their status quo. Bulkeley also touches on the importance of community under dire circumstances, something that Cheap increasingly devalues as he prioritizes his own position at the top of the hierarchy. As Cheap remains secluded in his hut, Bulkeley builds community, working with the crew to construct homes and, eventually, a new boat.

Read about Main Idea #3: Nothing in nature is more dangerous than desperate humans.

In Part Three, two examples of community-minded leadership draw attention to Cheap’s limitations and self-centeredness, which find an analogue in the air of superiority Great Britain assumed over its colonies. The first example is John Bulkeley, and the second is the Kawésqar, an Indigenous people the castaways encounter in Chapter 11: Nomads of the Sea. Unlike the British seamen, who are near starvation, the Kawésqar know how to rely on one another to survive the cold, navigate through the extreme weather, and secure food and fresh water. At first, the Kawésqar help the castaways, easily diving 30 feet underwater to retrieve nutritious sea urchins and sailing in their canoes to fetch sheep. Grann notes the irony that the Kawésqar’s capabilities far exceed those of the imperial people who have endowed themselves with the right to conquer them. In this way, The Wager challenges the logic of European colonialism. Just as Bulkeley is a better leader than Cheap, despite not having been granted the title of captain, the Europeans’ belief in their own superiority does not mean their conquest is deserved. The British seamen must rely on the savvy of the very people their empire has deemed inferior, proving their imperial assumptions incorrect.

Read an explanation of a key quote from Chapter 12.

While the Wager survivors are in awe of the Kawésqar’s abilities, they do not treat them with respect. The Kawésqar leave for good after the sailors harass the Kawésqar women and plot to steal the Kawésqar’s canoes. This leaves the crew of the Wager without the help they so desperately need. The castaways must again spend their days foraging to survive, while tensions among the group grow. Instances of thievery and murder make it difficult for the men to trust one another, and the castaways divide into warring factions. These include the “seceders” led by James Mitchell, who is the assistant to carpenter John Cummins, and the marines led by their captain, Robert Pemberton. The breaking point comes in Chapter 13: Extremities, when midshipman Henry Cozens and Cheap get into an argument, leading Cheap to beat and imprison Cozens. A few days later, another crewmate loudly accuses Cozens of planning a mutiny and shoots at him but misses. Hearing the shouting and the shot, Cheap mistakenly believes Cozens is planning a mutiny and shoots him in the face. This brazenly lawless act widens the chasm between Cheap and the rest of the crew, further feeding his paranoia.

Facing the prospect of a court-martial once he returns to England, either for wrecking the Wager or for Cozens’s summary execution, Cheap imagines a plan to instead return to England a hero by completing his original mission. Meanwhile, Bulkeley is also concerned about a possible court-martial, because unlike Cozens, he actually is explicitly considering mutiny against Cheap. Though Cheap and Bulkeley are afraid for different reasons, their fears shed light on the importance of narrative, which Grann had first emphasized in the book’s prologue. Cheap and Bulkeley are on different sides of the conflict, but each face desperate circumstances, and both convince themselves they are right both morally and legally. If they reach England again, their respective fates will lie in their ability to convince others that they did not commit any wrongdoing. The other men of the crew are also painfully aware of how essential their stories are to their very survival. In Chapter 8 and again in Chapter 10: Our New Town, Bulkeley discovers that many of the ship’s written records have been intentionally destroyed, presumably by someone who was worried they would reflect poorly on their actions.

Read about how personal stories can both reveal and shape history (Main Idea #2).

At the end of Part Three, carpenter John Cummins leads a group of men including Bulkeley and Byron in repurposing the submerged longboat of the Wager into a new boat, the Speedwell. A longboat is a vessel that can transport a large number of men between the shore and the main ship, or between ships. As the tension increases, an earthquake strikes and Byron panics, but after realizing it is only an earthquake, he is relieved and focuses on making his decision about whether to follow Bulkeley or Cheap. Bulkeley crafts a plan to take the surviving crew 3,000 miles to Brazil, which is neutral in the war with Spain, while Cheap imagines he can still rendezvous with Commodore Anson in Chiloé Island off the coast of Chile, less than 500 miles away. Byron’s struggle to choose sides provides a narrative window into the advantages and disadvantages of each plan. While Cheap seems to stand for the romanticism of the sea that Byron prizes, Bulkeley is simply a better leader. Byron may be loyal to Cheap, but he is wary of his fanaticism, and in the end signs Bulkeley’s petition to take the Speedwell to Brazil. After waiting three weeks for a response to their petition from Cheap, Bulkeley declares mutiny in earnest. When Bulkeley and 80 castaways set off for Brazil, they leave Cheap and his now small number of supporters on Wager Island. In addition to concerns about his physical survival, Cheap worries that his account of the fate of the Wager will be lost if only the mutineers survive.

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