Embassy to the Eastern Courts: America's Secret First Pivot Toward Asia, 1832-37 - Tapa dura

"The author has skillfully used available documentation to weave a fascinating and topical tale of intrigue... and diplomatic success."--Baird Maritime Australia "Embassy to the Eastern Courts is part travelogue, part history and part adventure. It will fascinate anyone interested in the period it covers or the difference between then and the present."--Galveston Daily News "You'll never be rowed up the Chao Phraya River in a royal junk crewed by green clad and red clad sailors, but Andrew Jampoler serves up the next best thing: Embassy to the Eastern Courts is less a book than a time machine that will transport you to the mid-nineteenth century, when the U.S. Navy helped open up Canton, Bangkok, and Muscat to commerce. Sit back, turn the pages, and enjoy the ride."--William J. Bernstein, author of A Splendid Exchange "Embassy to the Eastern Courts takes readers along on Edmund Roberts's exotic and sometimes quixotic quest to open U.S. official relations with the Far East. Written with jaunty verve and wry humor, Andrew Jampoler's travelogue conveys the full flavor of extended voyaging in the age of sail--the mysteries of foreign lands, the dangers of uncharted waters, the vexations of remoteness from home and of long confinement in cramped quarters, and the constant battle to maintain the health of ship and crew. The exquisite illustrations are themselves worth the price of the voyage."--Daniel Feller, professor of history at the University of Tennessee, editor/director of The Papers of Andrew Jackson "Andrew Jampoler has provided yet another winning work of history, detailing the triumphs (and many more tribulations) of one of the lesser known diplomats in American history."--The Journal of Military History "There is no better way to understand today's Western interactions with, and challenges from, Asia, than to trace the similarities with and differences from the early East-West encounters two centuries ago. Embassy to the Eastern Courts does a wonderful job of conveying the texture of the outward looking American society of the era of Jackson, Tocqueville, and Darwin's discoveries, and the uncertain China they met. I learned a lot about both China and America from this book."--James Fallows, The Atlantic; author of China Airborne: The Test of China's Future "Jampoler has mined a plethora of sources to produce his Embassy to the Eastern Courts, most importantly, Roberts' personal papers, and his journal. His charts and maps are informative too, and his reproductions of famous paintings of scenes and places in the Orient are remarkably attractive. Embassy to the Eastern Courts is a welcome addition to the literature on Asiatic-American relations in the early nineteenth century."--The Northern Mariner "Jampoler, the author of six other books, does a first-rate job of delineating the Navy at this time, the world stage at the time -- Great Britain, France and the Netherlands competing for footholds and trading posts far from their homeland and provides wonderful color of the ports along the Pacific-Indian oceans rim. He did in this work on diplomacy, maritime trade and the Navy's role in both what he did so very well in Sailors in the Holy Land, " the entryway to the American age of exploration."--Naval History Book Reviews "Embassy a real pleasure to read, and I recommend it to anyone interested in America and the world through maritime history, cross-cultural trade, or the U.S. Navy in the age of sail. It reads like a good Patrick O'Brian story, and, having enjoyed those too, I am looking forward to getting my hands on more of Jampoler's histories."--War on the Rocks.com "For those who have somehow managed to avoid the history that involved 71% of the planet, Embassy to the Eastern Courts is an intoxicating plunge into the deep end--bring a life jacket. For those who love the maritime world, Embassy is a joy."--Sea History

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. 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.