Page 12 - Boca Exposure - October '24

Page 12, Boca Exposure
Book Review

American Sanctuary: Mutiny, electoral campaign from oppression should
focused on driving the
be able to find sanctuary
Martyrdom, And National Identity public’s anger, form in the United States
In The Age Of Revolution the major part of this and not have to fear
being turned away. It is
compelling story.
Eventually— to this day at the heart
By Nils A. Shapiro and critical in of our nation’s self-
I cannot recall ever light of today’s image, symbolized by
enjoying a scholarly work political climate and the Statue of Liberty
of early American history so immigration crisis— in New York Harbor
interestingly and vividly told, the American people and the inscription on
so extraordinarily researched eventually decided her base addressed to
and impressively detailed, that, whether or not “the huddled masses
exciting as any novel, and Jonathan Robbins (or yearning to be free.”
as timely in subject as Thomas Nash, if that This is the story of
next month’s presidential was his real name) was how and when that all
election! in fact an American started. I loved every
The date was September citizen, anyone fleeing word of it.
21, 1797. The event was a vicious mutiny by the crew of
a British naval vessel, HMS Hermione, in the Caribbean
off the coast of Puerto Rico. Little remembered today, its
aftershock was to lead NOW ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS
directly to the election
of Thomas Jefferson
over the incumbent John
Adams as president of the Boca Raton Concierge Medicine Doctor
United States … and the
resulting lasting image of
America as a sanctuary of Board Certified in
freedom for those fleeing
from persecution in other Internal Medicine
lands—an issue that with Added Qualifications in
dominates today’s political
campaigns just as it did the Geriatrics (2002).
one in 1800.
I must admit that, Steven E. Reznick, MD, FACP
although it was published
in 2017, I had never heard of American Sanctuary and was Voted a “Best Doctor”
fortunate to come across it by accident on a table stacked by his peers.
with books while shopping in a market. Its author, A. Roger
Ekirch, is a professor of history at Virginia Tech, has written
four earlier books, received a Guggenheim Fellowship and Call to request a complimentary meeting
is widely recognized as one of our finest historians.
The details that enrich this narrative, garnered from with Dr. Reznick.
the author’s extraordinary research, add enormously to the
overall experience, as do the many contemporary portraits
and illustrations from that period. 561.368.0191
Revolutionary and early American history being one
of my preferred reading tastes I was surprised never to
have heard of the very significant event that is the pivotal 7280 W. Palmetto Park Road | 205N
subject of this book: the mutiny aboard HMS Hermione. Boca Raton, FL 33433
Nor, shockingly, was it ever mentioned in any class, even www.bocaconciergedoc.com
through college.
At the time the mutiny took place—after the United
States had already won the Revolutionary War several
years earlier and declared itself an independent nation—
one of the most objectionable policies of the British
crown and its navy was the practice of “impressment”: the True Treasures
stopping and boarding of other nations’ vessels, capturing
members of their crews and forcing them to sail and work Consigned Furniture
as seamen on British ships, most likely never to see their
families again. & Home Décor
Such was the case of many on the Hermione’s crew as
it sailed near the island of Puerto Rico on that September
day in 1797. Adding to what was already a tinder box of TrueTreasuresInc.com
a situation was the fact that this ship’s captain, Admiral
Hugh Pigot, was a disciplinarian so stern that whipping Why pay retail when you can find a True Treasure?
and other punishments for minor crew offenses became
unbearable and sparked the bloody insurrection that ended
in the death of the captain and other officers.
One of the main leaders of the mutiny was a man whose Now Accepting
name throughout this book varies between Thomas Nash Consignments
(if he was actually Irish) and Jonathan Robbins, depending
upon whether his claim to have been an American from
Connecticut was true or not. Over $1,000,000
Eventually, after the mutiny Robbins made his way to
the U.S. and was tracked down by the British government, paid to consignors
which demanded that President John Adams turn over the in 2023.
“mutineer and murderer” to Britain for punishment. It was
awkward timing, for Adams was then in the process of
ratifying an economic trade treaty with Britain that had 10% OFF the ticketed
just been negotiated. price
Adams had to weigh the success of the treaty against (Expires 10/31/2024)
the American public’s anger about the British policy and
actions of impressment on the high seas and the idea of
turning over to Britain a claimed American citizen who 3 Convenient Locations
“had the right to regain his freedom after having been the 111 N US 1, 3918 Northlake Blvd, 14555 S Military Trail,
victim of such impressment” and return home. North Palm Beach, FL 33408 Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33403 Delray Beach, FL 33484
Adams’s decision to turn Robbins over to Britain— 561-625-9569 561-694-2812 561-699-9797
where he was executed by hanging without a trial—
Adams’s Federalist Party’s defense of his decision, and the Store Hours Mon - Sat 10 - 6, Sun 11 - 5 (Sun 12 - 5 at US 1 location only)
consequences of Jefferson’s Republican Party’s national