Dunmore New World Analysis

Words: 776
Pages: 4

In Dunmore’s New World: The Extraordinary Life of a Royal Governer in Revolutionary America- with Jacobites, Counterfeits, scalping, Indian Politics, Runaway Slaves, and Two Illegal Royal Weddings by James Corbett David; the riveting tale of John Murray’s life and career is told in a very entertaining fashion. John Murray, earl of Dunmore, during his time was viewed in a very negative light by his peers: self-centered, incompetent, and a drunkard were just a few words that Murray’s peers used to describe him during the eighteenth century. However, his interesting life is brought to life in a much more positive light by David, describing him as a “man of average ability and extraordinary confidence, he had many flaws” (pg. 4). Some of his exploits include: leading incursions without permission of the House of Burgesses, making a proclamation in 1775 to free slaves, and rallying …show more content…
David reserves an entire chapter for “Dunmore’s war.” He was very aggressive in defying political bureaucracies in Virginia and his war was due to the complex relationships of many actors. George Washington himself called Dunmore a “Arch Traitor,” furthering the warm feelings many Americans and British felt for Dunmore’s leadership. A very interesting aspect of David’s book is how it exemplifies the issues with Empire, in particular, the issues with British Empire. His invasion plans of Florida, utilizing the Seminole tribes demonstrate his – in some cases – outrageous ideas broke the normal ideologies of British governors and his ambitious personality drew some similarities to another Royal Governor, John Graves Simcoe. Although Simcoe is never brought up in David’s book, they do indeed share many ideals, however, Simcoe was far less wild in terms of his ideas and