A Journal of Transactions and Events During a Residence of Nearly Sixteen Years on the Coast of Labrador; Containing Many Interesting Particulars, Both of the Country and its Inhabitants, not Hitherto

£6,750 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

George Cartwright first visited the Americas in the spring of 1766, when his brother John was first lieutenant of the Guernsey, flagship of Commodore Hugh Palliser. Cartwright sailed with the governor-designate to Newfoundland, where he spent a season cruising along the northeast coast. He returned in the spring of 1768 and took part in an expedition to the interior of Newfoundland to establish friendly relations with the Beothuks at Red Indian Lake. Cartwright’s army career was foundering, so he determined to set up as a trader and entrepreneur in Labrador, and in 1770 he went on half pay. Raids by the Americans, competition between the English and French fishermen and between the different English merchant houses, along with the hostility between the natives and Europeans, all made for an unstable business atmosphere during Cartwright’s time in Labrador and Newfoundland. None of this was helped by the political problems caused by the rival authorities of Quebec and Newfoundland. The scene of his operations from 1770 to 1786 was the stretch of coastline between Cape Charles, where he occupied Nicholas Darby’s old site, and Hamilton Inlet. From the stations he established he engaged with his servants and sharemen in the fisheries for cod, salmon, and seals, and the trade in furs. The present work gives a fascinating insight into the business life of the region. But this work offers much else besides: a detailed record of the seasons with fine meteorological and natural histor

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