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 32
Page 12
... interest he might have had in the Greyhound ; and in the event that price fluctuations made it difficult for him to cover the cost of a voyage credit would allow him to sail again . If the price for molas- ses or sugar was favorable ...
... interest he might have had in the Greyhound ; and in the event that price fluctuations made it difficult for him to cover the cost of a voyage credit would allow him to sail again . If the price for molas- ses or sugar was favorable ...
Page 17
... John , who had invested heavily in land , estimated that " the valuable Landed Interest of the Colony is sunk in its value more than 50 p . cent . ” 18 Given these troubles , it is no wonder that when A COLONIAL CHILDHOOD 17.
... John , who had invested heavily in land , estimated that " the valuable Landed Interest of the Colony is sunk in its value more than 50 p . cent . ” 18 Given these troubles , it is no wonder that when A COLONIAL CHILDHOOD 17.
Page 20
... interest, to be distributed when John married or reached maturity. This was a reasonably large sum, roughly equivalent to four or five thou- sand dollars in the present day. But apparently the probate court did not consider nineteen ...
... interest, to be distributed when John married or reached maturity. This was a reasonably large sum, roughly equivalent to four or five thou- sand dollars in the present day. But apparently the probate court did not consider nineteen ...
Page 45
... interest. Still these offer few clues about how John Ledyard spent his years sailing with Cook, about how he whiled away the months at sea, about how he was viewed by Cook and the others with whom he sailed, or about how he endured ...
... interest. Still these offer few clues about how John Ledyard spent his years sailing with Cook, about how he whiled away the months at sea, about how he was viewed by Cook and the others with whom he sailed, or about how he endured ...
Page 54
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
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