The Making of John Ledyard: Empire and Ambition in the Life of an Early American TravelerYale University Press, 1. okt 2008 - 224 pages During the course of his short but extraordinary life, John Ledyard (1751–1789) came in contact with some of the most remarkable figures of his era: the British explorer Captain James Cook, American financier Robert Morris, Revolutionary naval commander John Paul Jones, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and others. Ledyard lived and traveled in remarkable places as well, journeying from the New England backcountry to Tahiti, Hawaii, the American Northwest coast, Alaska, and the Russian Far East. In this engaging biography, the historian Edward Gray offers not only a full account of Ledyard’s eventful life but also an illuminating view of the late eighteenth-century world in which he lived. Ledyard was both a product of empire and an agent in its creation, Gray shows, and through this adventurer’s life it is possible to discern the many ways empire shaped the lives of nations, peoples, and individuals in the era of the American Revolution, the world’s first modern revolt against empire. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 36
Page vii
... Dartmouth College 23 III Serving Captain Cook with Honor 43 IV Seeking Distinction with the Pen Aboard the Resolution 69 V Following the Revolution Home 83 VI From Author to Fur Trader 101 VII Becoming a Traveler in Thomas Jefferson's ...
... Dartmouth College 23 III Serving Captain Cook with Honor 43 IV Seeking Distinction with the Pen Aboard the Resolution 69 V Following the Revolution Home 83 VI From Author to Fur Trader 101 VII Becoming a Traveler in Thomas Jefferson's ...
Page x
... Dartmouth College (the prin- cipal repository of Ledyard materials), I am grateful to Sarah I. Hart- well. I would also like to thank Kevin McBride, director of research at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum, for answering my questions ...
... Dartmouth College (the prin- cipal repository of Ledyard materials), I am grateful to Sarah I. Hart- well. I would also like to thank Kevin McBride, director of research at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum, for answering my questions ...
Page 2
... Dartmouth College, he failed in bids to enter the Con- necticut bar and the Congregational clergy, he failed in business, and his most ambitious journeys ended in failure—Ledyard nonetheless perse- vered, driven by a burning ...
... Dartmouth College, he failed in bids to enter the Con- necticut bar and the Congregational clergy, he failed in business, and his most ambitious journeys ended in failure—Ledyard nonetheless perse- vered, driven by a burning ...
Page 8
... Dartmouth College . 6 These gaps ( as well as my particular interpretation of Ledyard ) ac- count for the somewhat unorthodox structure of this book . Like most biographies , it follows the chronology of its subject's life . But at ...
... Dartmouth College . 6 These gaps ( as well as my particular interpretation of Ledyard ) ac- count for the somewhat unorthodox structure of this book . Like most biographies , it follows the chronology of its subject's life . But at ...
Page 20
... Dartmouth College. It was a grand affair, con- sidering that this class consisted of only four students. New Hampshire's governor as well as members of the colony's General Assembly and the clergy attended. But for a young man with ...
... Dartmouth College. It was a grand affair, con- sidering that this class consisted of only four students. New Hampshire's governor as well as members of the colony's General Assembly and the clergy attended. But for a young man with ...
Contents
1 | |
9 | |
23 | |
43 | |
IV Seeking Distinction with the Pen Aboard the Resolution | 69 |
V Following the Revolution Home | 83 |
VI From Author to Fur Trader | 101 |
VII Becoming a Traveler in Thomas Jeffersons Paris | 124 |
VIII Across the Russian Empire | 136 |
IX Despotism and Human Nature in Catherine IIs Russia | 153 |
X To Africa | 170 |
Memories of the Traveler | 186 |
Notes | 195 |
Index | 217 |
Other editions - View all
The Making of John Ledyard: Empire and Ambition in the Life of an Early ... Edward G. Gray No preview available - 2007 |
Common terms and phrases
Abigail aboard the Resolution Africa African Association appeared Banks Beaufoy Britain British Captain John Catherine chap character China colonial command Connecticut River Cook’s Cook's Last Voyage crew Dartmouth College death despotism Discovery eighteenth-century Eleazar Wheelock elite Empress England ethnic European expedition explained French frontier fur trade Hartford Hawaiian History human Ibid imperial Imperial Russia Irkutsk Islands Jared Sparks JCJC John Ledyard John Ledyard's Journey John Paul Jones Jones journal labor land letter Library London luxury marines merchants military moral Munford native nature naval navy never North America North Pacific northwest coast officers Pacific Ocean Palais Paris patrons perhaps political reprint returned revolutionary Russian Empire Russian Far East seemed Shelikov ships Siberia simply slavery slaves social Society South Squire John suggested Syphax Tahitian tattooed Thomas Jefferson tion Unalaska vessels Watrous West Whitman William writing Yakutsk yard York young