Between king cotton and Queen Victoria : how pirates, smugglers, and scoundrels almost saved the Confederacy / Beau Cleland.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cleland, Beau, Author.

Series:

Uncivil wars http://id.loc.gov/resources/hubs/4562b002-94ca-02c8-970c-ee1aa2a6e61f

Uncivil wars

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Non-state actors (International relations)--Political activity--History--19th century.

Non-state actors (International relations).

Privateering--Political aspects--Atlantic Ocean Region--History--19th century.

Privateering.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Blockades.

United States.

United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Participation, Foreign.

Confederate States of America--Relations--Bahamas--History--19th century.

Confederate States of America.

Confederate States of America--Relations--Bermuda Islands--History--19th century.

Confederate States of America--Relations--Canada--History--19th century.

Great Britain--Colonies--America.

Great Britain.

Atlantic Ocean Region.

Physical Description:

xiv, 276 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm.

Other Title:

How pirates, smugglers, and scoundrels almost saved the Confederacy

Place of Publication:

Athens, Georgia : University of Georgia Press, [2025]

Summary:

"Between King Cotton and Queen Victoria recenters our understanding of the Civil War by framing it as a hemispheric affair, deeply influenced by the actions of a network of private parties and minor officials in both Confederate and British territory in and around North America. John Wilkes Booth likely would not have been in a position to assassinate Abraham Lincoln without the logistical support and assistance of the pro-Confederate network in Canada. That network, to which he was personally introduced in Montreal in the fall of 1864, was hosted and facilitated by willing colonials across the hemisphere. Many of its Confederate members arrived in British North America via a long-established transportation and communications network built around British colonies, especially Bermuda and the Bahamas, whose primary purpose was running the blockade. It is difficult to overstate how essential blockade running was for the rebellion's survival, and it would have been impossible without the aid of sympathetic colonials. The operations of this informal, semiprivate network were of enormous consequence for the course of the war and its aftermath, and our understanding of the Civil War is incomplete without a deeper reckoning with the power and potential for chaos of these private networks imbued with the power of a state"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

"That nation of pirates": private violence and the North American origins of Confederate informal diplomacy, 1837-1861

King cotton and king conch: informal diplomacy, Anglo-Confederate relations, and blockade running in the Bahamas, 1861-1863

"I risk with all concerned": Bermuda and the fight to control blockade running, 1863-1864

"The heartless slave-dealers in America": strikes, spies, and the failures of Confederate influence in Bermuda and the Bahamas, 1862-1864

"The like was not practised in the previous conflicts of civilized nations": divided sovereignty and paramilitary violence in the colonies and at sea, 1863-1865

"Informal propositions coming from irresponsible and unofficial persons": British North America and the perils of informal diplomacy, 1864-1865

"Schemes of deviltry concocted in Canada": public causes and privatized violence from Canada, 1864-1865.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

ebook version :

ISBN:

9780820375250

082037525X

9780820375267

0820375268

OCLC:

1511524822

Publisher Number:

90103151942

CIPO000312858