The Wager: a Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

January 4, 2024

The Wager: a Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

HMS Wager sailed from England in 1740, part of a convoy that was sailing for Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America. The ship wrecked off the coast of South America, and the surviving crew members were marooned on a barren island that came to be known as Wager Island. But dissension rose among the survivors, and the crew split into two parts, both groups with a plan to escape the island and return to England. In 1742, the remnants of one group washed up in Brazil. They were hailed as brave heroes and returned to England in 1747. But then three officers from the Wager arrived in England in 1747. They told a much different story, insisting that the other crew members were not heroes but mutineers. And there began a story of they-said, they-said.

There is a saying that there are no atheists in a foxhole, and I'm pretty sure the same is true for a lifeboat. The Wager seems like it was a particularly unlucky, plagued by death, illness, superstition, constant storms, and strange accidents (maybe it was the name? Even though the Wager was named after a person, a wager is a bet). The survivors' saga reminded me of The Lord of the Flies. John (Jack) Byron, who eventually rose to vice admiral and was the grandfather of the poet Lord Byron, was a 15 year old midshipman on the Wager. Patrick O'Brian based his novel The Unknown Shore on Byron's journal from his time on the Wager. Recommended for history fans. (FYI, Cape Horn is at the tip of South America where the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans converge, and the seas in this area are said to be like a giant washing machine).

Cape Horn, Chile