Prologue

The prologue walks the reader through the experience of a merchant who visits the office of a Boston marine insurance company in the year 1800 to purchase an insurance policy. The prologue discusses the appearance and location of the office, the terms of the policy, and how the insurance rate is decided upon. It continues with a discussion of the fate of the merchant's voyage, along with the fate of a voyage launched by a fellow merchant with a greater appetite for risk. The prologue concludes with a discussion of how losses were proved, and how indemnifications were calculated and paid out.