Adventurism and Empire: The Struggle for Mastery in the Louisiana-Florida Borderlands, 1762-1803 - Hardcover

David Narrett

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1469618338 ISBN 13: 9781469618333

Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press, 2015

Synopsis

In this expansive book, David Narrett shows how the United States emerged as a successor empire to Great Britain through rivalry with Spain in the Mississippi Valley and Gulf Coast. As he traces currents of peace and war over four critical decades--from the close of the Seven Years War through the Louisiana Purchase--Narrett sheds new light on individual colonial adventurers and schemers who shaped history through cross-border trade, settlement projects involving slave and free labor, and military incursions aimed at Spanish and Indian territories.

Narrett examines the clash of empires and nationalities from diverse perspectives. He weighs the challenges facing Native Americans along with the competition between Spanish, French, British, and U.S. interests. In a turbulent era, the Louisiana and Florida borderlands were shaken by tremors from the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolution. By demonstrating pervasive intrigue and subterfuge in borderland rivalries, Narrett shows that U.S. Manifest Destiny was not a linear or inevitable progression. He offers a fresh interpretation of how events in the Louisiana and Florida borderlands altered the North American balance of power, and affected the history of the Atlantic world.

About this title

Book Description:

"Narrett's work will be an important addition to the existing literature on the subject, one that weaves complex issues into a cohesive story. It is an insightful work with a challenging subject. This will be an immensely useful study, and I look forward to having it on my shelf."--Samuel Hyde, Southeastern Louisiana University

About the Author:

David Narrett is professor of history at the University of Texas at Arlington.

About this edition

• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1469618338
• ISBN 13: 9781469618333
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 392