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 31
Page x
... tried to address. Finally, several people read the entire manuscript at a very late stage and offered valuable comments. My mother, Sue Gray, and my friend James P. Jones assured me that the project was worth x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
... tried to address. Finally, several people read the entire manuscript at a very late stage and offered valuable comments. My mother, Sue Gray, and my friend James P. Jones assured me that the project was worth x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.
Page 3
... late eighteenth - century America meant being somebody known to the right kind of people . It meant , that is , being admired by the famous and the powerful , people who could help a striving young man make something of himself . Such ...
... late eighteenth - century America meant being somebody known to the right kind of people . It meant , that is , being admired by the famous and the powerful , people who could help a striving young man make something of himself . Such ...
Page 9
... late 1730s and early 1740s , had passed ; and the economic and emo- tional disruptions brought by the French and Indian War were still several years away . This was a happy year for the Ledyard family as well . Aside from witnessing the ...
... late 1730s and early 1740s , had passed ; and the economic and emo- tional disruptions brought by the French and Indian War were still several years away . This was a happy year for the Ledyard family as well . Aside from witnessing the ...
Page 14
... late 1764 , when a Mr. S arrived in the colony and began attack- ing the theology of the colony's established church , was it not likely , an anonymous newspaper Querist asked , “ that he may be an Emissary of the Church of Rome ...
... late 1764 , when a Mr. S arrived in the colony and began attack- ing the theology of the colony's established church , was it not likely , an anonymous newspaper Querist asked , “ that he may be an Emissary of the Church of Rome ...
Page 19
... late eighteenth - century commentator put it , “ The art of speaking in public is better acquired in the practice of law than in any other business . ” 21 In his discourses before the midshipmen aboard the Resolution or at Thomas ...
... late eighteenth - century commentator put it , “ The art of speaking in public is better acquired in the practice of law than in any other business . ” 21 In his discourses before the midshipmen aboard the Resolution or at Thomas ...
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