Baxter’s Business Calculus

The North Water

Jacob Baxter treats men, ships, and catastrophe as manageable financial risks until Sumner threatens to expose the human costs of his scheme.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

A Trade to Abandon A Trade to Abandon from "The North Water". A Merchant Changes Course Reading the market Jacob Baxter sees that petroleum and coal gas are replacing whale oil.

A Trade to Abandon from "The North Water". A Merchant Changes Course Reading the market Jacob Baxter sees that petroleum and coal gas are replacing whale oil.

A Merchant Changes Course Reading the market Jacob Baxter sees that petroleum and coal gas are replacing whale oil. He expects the whaling trade to decline and looks for a profitable exit. Profit through loss He keeps the Volunteer’s voyage tied to a secret insurance plan, converting a ship’s destruction into a potential financial return.

An Inexpensive Surgeon An Inexpensive Surgeon from "The North Water". Sumner as a Useful Unknown A cheap appointment Baxter hires Patrick Sumner for low wages, knowing little about the surgeon’s full past.

An Inexpensive Surgeon from "The North Water". Sumner as a Useful Unknown A cheap appointment Baxter hires Patrick Sumner for low wages, knowing little about the surgeon’s full past.

Sumner as a Useful Unknown A cheap appointment Baxter hires Patrick Sumner for low wages, knowing little about the surgeon’s full past. He assumes Sumner wants no trouble and is unlikely to disrupt the voyage. A misplaced confidence Baxter’s calculation treats a wounded, disgraced man as an easy piece of the arrangement. Sumner’s survival and persistence will later make that assumption dangerous.

The Scheme at Sea The Scheme at Sea from "The North Water". Captains and Insurance A division of roles Baxter coordinates with Brownlee and Campbell as the Volunteer moves north.

The Scheme at Sea from "The North Water". Captains and Insurance A division of roles Baxter coordinates with Brownlee and Campbell as the Volunteer moves north.

Captains and Insurance A division of roles Baxter coordinates with Brownlee and Campbell as the Volunteer moves north. The ship’s position and eventual loss are meant to appear credible to underwriters. A business built on concealment The whale hunt supplies a public explanation for the voyage, while the planned wreck supplies its real financial purpose. Each man’s role is calculated against possible scrutiny.

A Survivor Returns A Survivor Returns from "The North Water". Sumner Becomes a Liability The letter from Lerwick Baxter learns that Patrick Sumner survived and knows about killings aboard the ship.

A Survivor Returns from "The North Water". Sumner Becomes a Liability The letter from Lerwick Baxter learns that Patrick Sumner survived and knows about killings aboard the ship.

Sumner Becomes a Liability The letter from Lerwick Baxter learns that Patrick Sumner survived and knows about killings aboard the ship. Sumner’s knowledge can endanger the insurance story and Baxter’s future business. A new plan Baxter attempts to enlist Drax and Stevens in a scheme that will leave Sumner dead and the evidence confused. His effort to control violence merely creates another murder.

The Safe and the Rope The Safe and the Rope from "The North Water". A Merchant Cornered Bargaining fails After killing Drax, Sumner confronts Baxter with the failed timber-yard plot.

The Safe and the Rope from "The North Water". A Merchant Cornered Bargaining fails After killing Drax, Sumner confronts Baxter with the failed timber-yard plot.

A Merchant Cornered Bargaining fails After killing Drax, Sumner confronts Baxter with the failed timber-yard plot. Baxter offers money and a new start, arguing that the past can be buried. Power changes hands Sumner demands the contents of Baxter’s safe and ties him in the stable. Baxter’s habit of managing other lives meets a survivor who refuses his terms.

Before the Volunteer sails

While hiring the crew

During the voyage north

After the winter disaster

The night Sumner reaches Baxter’s house