Our systems are now restored following recent technical disruption, and we’re working hard to catch up on publishing. We apologise for the inconvenience caused. Find out more

Recommended product

Popular links

Popular links


Discoveries of America

Discoveries of America

Discoveries of America

Personal Accounts of British Emigrants to North America during the Revolutionary Era
Barbara DeWolfe, Harvard University, Massachusetts
Bernard Bailyn
September 1997
Available
Paperback
9780521386944

    Discoveries of America is a collection of personal letters written by eighteen of the thousands of British emigrants who came to North America in the fifteen years preceding the onset of the American Revolution. These accounts are rare: few letters sent by emigrants during the colonial period exist. The letters reveal the motivations, experiences, characteristics, and emotions of these people, who populated America at a crucial time in its history, and provide new insights into the mechanisms of the British-American migration, especially the organization of personal networks of family and friends.

    • Includes valuable collection of 41 letters and 3 pamphlets
    • Foreword by Bernard Bailyn, the most distinguised living American historian
    • Offers a compelling insight into the life of British emigrants who came to North America

    Reviews & endorsements

    "Discoveries of America is a welcomed, meticulously researched addition to the study of the eighteenth-century North Atlantic world." The North Carolina Historical Review

    "...this book...will fascinate readers with an interest in the complexities of migration of British emigrants who dared to cross the Atlantic and write home about their experience in the New World in order to invite others to follow their example." Marianne S. Wokeck, Michigan Historical Review

    See more reviews

    Product details

    September 1997
    Paperback
    9780521386944
    256 pages
    229 × 150 × 17 mm
    0.3kg
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • Editor's Preface
    • Preface
    • Introduction
    • Note on Selection
    • Editorial Procedures
    • Part I. Nova Scotia: Narratives of Charles Dixon
    • Letter of James Metcalf
    • Letter of Luke Harrison
    • John Robinson and Thomas Rispin, 'Journey through Nova Scotia'
    • Part II. Middle Colonies: Letters of James Whitelaw
    • Alexander Thomson, 'News from America
    • ' Letters of Hugh Simm
    • Part IV. Chesapeake: Letter of John Campbell
    • Letters of David Duff
    • Letter of Thomas Feilde
    • Part V. North Carolina: Letters of Alexander McAllister
    • Letter of Alexander Campbell of Ballole
    • Part VI. South Carolina and Georgia: Letters of Alexander Cumine
    • Letters of George Ogilvie
    • Letter of Thomas Taylor
    • Letter of Baikia Harvey
    • Letter of Hester Wylly.
      Editor
    • Barbara DeWolfe , Harvard University, Massachusetts
    • Bernard Bailyn