Includes bibliographical references (pages 221-228) and index.
Contents:
Prologue: The 1830s -- Part 1. The first cruise, March 8, 1832-May 31, 1834 : USS Peacock and USS Boxer -- President Jackson, Secretary Woodbury, and Mister Roberts -- The Frigate USS Potomac at Kuala Batee -- Master Commandant Geisinger, ChargeĢ d'Affaires Baylies, and Surgeon Ticknor -- Monte Video to Manila -- China, Cochin China, and Siam -- Oman, Mozambique, Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro, and New York -- Part 2. The second cruise, April 25, 1835-November 2, 1837 : USS Peacock and USS Enterprise -- Commodore Kennedy, Captain Stribling, Lieutenant Commanding Campbell, and Surgeon Ruschenberger -- Grounded! -- Colombo, Batavia, and Bangkok -- Cochin China and Macao -- The voyages home -- Epilogue: Sultana in New York City and USS Peacock on the Columbia River bar.
Summary:
"In the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, the U.S. found its merchants and traders locked out of their traditional markets in Europe and the Caribbean. Hoping for new and profitable American trade relationships, President Andrew Jackson dispatched an unemployed ship-owner and merchant with no diplomatic experience on a secret mission to negotiate with Eastern potentates in their courts. Edmund Roberts' mission was to formalize American trade with these exotic places--Oman, Siam, Cochin China, and Japan--on a most favored nation basis, allowing for American consuls to openly advance and protect American interests and citizens in their host country. After sailing almost 70,000 miles in five years in the ill-fated USS Peacock, Roberts was successful in negotiating treaties with Oman and Siam, but he failed in Cochin China, and he died before setting sail to Japan. The Peacock, first flagship of the Navy's new East Indies Squadron, forerunner of the U.S. Seventh Fleet, outlived him by only a few years"--Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.