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 13
... seemed to loom beyond the town's horizons . For most of its life , Hartford had existed in a perpetual state of fear , gazing North and West to hinterlands populated by hostile native peoples and perfidious French Catholics . The latter ...
... seemed to loom beyond the town's horizons . For most of its life , Hartford had existed in a perpetual state of fear , gazing North and West to hinterlands populated by hostile native peoples and perfidious French Catholics . The latter ...
Page 19
... seemed to have a strange presage upon his mind , that he should not long survive , but always spoke of his departure with that composure , resignation and confidence in divine mercy , as nothing but religion could inspire . " Squire ...
... seemed to have a strange presage upon his mind , that he should not long survive , but always spoke of his departure with that composure , resignation and confidence in divine mercy , as nothing but religion could inspire . " Squire ...
Page 24
... seemed to resonate with former colonists as they stood defiantly against Britain. Two of the Revolution's most famous lines, Patrick Henry's “Give me liberty or give me death!” and Nathan Hale's “I regret that I have but one life to ...
... seemed to resonate with former colonists as they stood defiantly against Britain. Two of the Revolution's most famous lines, Patrick Henry's “Give me liberty or give me death!” and Nathan Hale's “I regret that I have but one life to ...
Page 41
... seemed preferable to life in a penal colony but soon presented the novice soldier with its own problems . In the spring of 1775 , a band of local militiamen in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord rebuffed an assault by ...
... seemed preferable to life in a penal colony but soon presented the novice soldier with its own problems . In the spring of 1775 , a band of local militiamen in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord rebuffed an assault by ...
Page 47
... seemed extremely hard to single out an individual and command him to go upon such [ an ] expedition , and it was therefore thought proper to send a volunteer , or none . " Ledyard came forward , and Cook assured him “ that he was happy ...
... seemed extremely hard to single out an individual and command him to go upon such [ an ] expedition , and it was therefore thought proper to send a volunteer , or none . " Ledyard came forward , and Cook assured him “ that he was happy ...
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