Excursion through the Slave States, from Washington on the Potomac to the Frontier of Mexico: With Sketches of Popular Manners and Geological Notices

di George William Featherstonhaugh (Autore)

Cambridge University Press, 2011

The English geologist George William Featherstonhaugh (1780-1866) was commissioned to undertake a survey of the Arkansas territory in America, and spent 1834-5 travelling through the southern slave states to reach his destination. He was shocked by the slave system of the south, saying he 'had never seen so revolting a sight'. When he began to write about his experiences, Featherstonhaugh was urged not to publish his work in the US, as his opinions might 'irritate a powerful interest', and his manuscript remained unpublished until 1844, after his return to England. His lively two-volume account of his adventures contains a fascinating mixture of scientific and sociological detail. It is a closely observed record of Southern society in the period before the Civil War that candidly documents the violence experienced by Black slaves, Native Americans and frontier settlers. Volume 2 describes the geography and inhabitants of Arksansas and New Orleans.

• Autore: George William Featherstonhaugh
• Editore: Cambridge University Press
• Collana: Cambridge Library Collection - North American History
• Anno: 2011
• Rilegatura: Paperback / softback
• Pagine: 412 p.
• Dimensioni: 216 x 23 mm
• Peso: 520 gr.
• EAN: 9781108032810

Testo in English