The Wager by David Green

David Green takes us back to 1740 when Britain and Spain were fighting for control of the seas.  Spain was successfully colonizing and extracting wealth from Central and South America.  Britain had no presence there.  So they resorted to piracy.  They sent squadrons of ships to attack and plunder Spanish galleons to redirect the spoils to England.  Captain Anson (later to be made Admiral) sailed from Portsmouth with a squadron of five ships.  His assignment: sail around the world through the Straits of Magellan to the Philippines, India, and back to England.  Return with stolen loot and, as incentive, keep much of it for his personal estate.

The crew consisted of officers such as Byron (related to Lord Byron the poet), professional sailors, marines, and people kidnapped by press gangs (“the very filth of London,” according to one of the main characters Cheap).  As they traveled across the Atlantic several of the officers and crew got scurvy and died.  One of the ships was forced to return.  Cheap was given command of the Wager.

By March (six months after they set sail) the squadron reached Tierra del Fuego.  As they pass through the Straits the rough seas separated the ships.  The Wager foundered on a rock.  But many of the crew (250) survived and set up camp on an uninhabited desolate island.  As the likelihood of rescue declines, the crews resolve wavers.  To maintain order, Captain Cheap relies on the Navy’s rules and structure.  But he lacks the leadership skills to enforce them. The crew splinters into groups – seamen loyal to the captain, others loyal to the engineer (Bulkeley) - a natural leader, the marines and the rest.  The book describes steps the survivors took to survive – cannibalism, murder, mutiny, and heroism.  Even so, the crew dwindled to 91.

Bulkeley manages to put together three boats and with seventy of the crew sails back to England across the Atlantic.  Two years later Bulkeley lands in England.   The Admiralty immediately arrested Bulkeley as a suspected mutineer.  But, Bulkeley had wisely recorded events in a journal.  With no evidence to the contrary the Admiralty released him.  Two years later Cheap and four others found their way back to England.  Upon landing Cheap accused Bulkeley of mutiny.  Bulkeley accused Cheap of killing a crew member without due process.  The Admiralty held a court-martial.  But, with no conclusive evidence exonerated all.

The book brings out the many decisions people in desperate situations make. The crew is befriended by a wandering group of natives who know how to survive.  But the “superior” race rejects their help and drives them away.   Cheap was a knowledgeable sailor faithful to the orders of his captain (Anson) but was rejected by most of the crew.  Bulkeley was a survivor who attracted many of the crew.  As he traveled back to England, he abandoned people if he felt his survival was threatened.  A group leaves Bulkeley and returns to England on their own.  When they land, they turn on Bulkeley and accuse him of mutiny.  Finally, the Admiralty has to make decisions about Bulkeley and Cheap. 

The author writes well, and the several elements of tension add up to an engrossing read.  This is a story we all felt could be a gripping movie.  And Martin Scorsese reportedly had the movie rights with plans to star Leonardo DiCaprio.

Ash Rao