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 38
Page vii
... Resolution 69 V Following the Revolution Home 83 VI From Author to Fur Trader 101 VII Becoming a Traveler in Thomas Jefferson's Paris 124 VIII Across the Russian Empire 136 IX Despotism and Human Nature in Catherine II's Russia 153 ...
... Resolution 69 V Following the Revolution Home 83 VI From Author to Fur Trader 101 VII Becoming a Traveler in Thomas Jefferson's Paris 124 VIII Across the Russian Empire 136 IX Despotism and Human Nature in Catherine II's Russia 153 ...
Page 2
... Thomas Jefferson, then the American minister to France, “if he escapes through this journey, he will go to Kentucky and endeavour to penetrate Westwardly from thence to the South sea.”1 He was unable to keep his promise. A misdiagnosed ...
... Thomas Jefferson, then the American minister to France, “if he escapes through this journey, he will go to Kentucky and endeavour to penetrate Westwardly from thence to the South sea.”1 He was unable to keep his promise. A misdiagnosed ...
Page 3
... Thomas Paine , Jefferson , John Adams , and even Benjamin Franklin — had armies of detractors . So far as we know , Ledyard had none . To be sure , he has little claim to the importance of the Founders . He signed no important ...
... Thomas Paine , Jefferson , John Adams , and even Benjamin Franklin — had armies of detractors . So far as we know , Ledyard had none . To be sure , he has little claim to the importance of the Founders . He signed no important ...
Page 13
... Thomas , George , and Fanny . To help compensate for her loss , Abigail returned with her children to her hometown of Southold . There she would be the daughter of one of the first families of English Long Island rather than the widow ...
... Thomas , George , and Fanny . To help compensate for her loss , Abigail returned with her children to her hometown of Southold . There she would be the daughter of one of the first families of English Long Island rather than the widow ...
Page 18
... Thomas Seymour . The career choice was a sensible one , especially given Ledyard's fam- ily background . By the middle of the eighteenth century , the colonial bar had begun to resemble the ministry in its elite , closed character ...
... Thomas Seymour . The career choice was a sensible one , especially given Ledyard's fam- ily background . By the middle of the eighteenth century , the colonial bar had begun to resemble the ministry in its elite , closed character ...
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