Defying Empire: Trading with the Enemy in Colonial New York »

Thomas M. Truxes is a member of the Irish Studies faculty at New York University. His previous books include Irish-American Trade, 1660–1783.

An original and engaging account of illicit trading by New York City merchants-some of whom became America's Founding Fathers-during the French and Indian War

Finalist for the 2009 Francis Parkman Prize sponsored by the Society of American Historians

Matthew J. Wayman - Library Journal

In the first half of the 18th century, France and Britain engaged in several wars for control of North America, culminating in the Seven Years' War (1756-63). Throughout that time, enterprising Colonial merchants engaged in controversial trade with French ports. Using a multithematic approach, Truxes (senior lecturer in history, Trinity Coll., Hartford; Irish American Trade, 1660-1783) examines New York City's participation in smuggling and privateering before and during the war, both at sea and on the city's streets. Combining elements of political, economic, military, social, and legal history, Truxes describes the operations in which merchants and sailors engaged. He presents both the merchants' views that their practices were perfectly legitimate and the Crown's perspective that these acts were treasonous. All the while, Truxes keeps the book's theme in context, providing brief overviews of the war's major events and the influence those events had on domestic trade and politics. Helpful end matter includes a chronology of events, glossaries of persons and terms, relevant legal decrees, and notes. This lively and scholarly analysis of a largely untreated topic would be an excellent purchase for academic libraries and public libraries with strong Colonial history collections.

List of Maps viii

Preface ix

A Note on the Text xiv

Introduction 1

Prologue: The Informer 9

1 A City at War 19

2 Admiral Hardy and the Smugglers 37

3 Frenchified Bottoms 52

4 Mountmen 72

5 Flag-Trucers 87

6 Mixed Messages 105

7 Business as Usual 123

8 Crackdown 139

9 The Trial 156

10 Fruits of Victory 172

Epilogue: Path to Revolution 188

Conclusion 200

Chronology 211

Glossary of Persons 217

Glossary of Terms 221

List of Statutes, Proclamations, and Orders in Council 225

Notes 229

Index 275