Skip to product information
1 of 22

Miss Holley Emma's Bookroom

The Precarious Life of James Mario Matra

The Precarious Life of James Mario Matra

Regular price $45.95 AUD
Regular price Sale price $45.95 AUD
Sale Sold out
Shipping calculated at checkout.

The Precarious Life of James Mario Matra by Alan Frost 

In August 1768 James Mario Matra, the 22-year-old son of an American loyalist, sailed with Captain Cook to unknown parts of the world. The voyage, fraught with danger and uncertainty, marked the beginning of what was to be, in many ways, a precarious life. On the Endeavour's return in 1771, Matra anonymously published the first major account of Cook's voyage. He never saw New Holland again, but his significant role in the history of the settlement of Australia was not yet ended. When the American War of Independence deprived Matra of his family inheritance, the Endeavour's celebrated naturalist, Sir Joseph Banks, helped get Matra employment as an official in various foreign outposts. In this capacity he turned his mind to ways of promoting Britain's global commercial network. Having personally felt the loss of one British colony, he conceived a plan to found another. In 1783 he proposed a British settlement in new South Wales to 'atone for the loss of our American colonies'. The settlement would give asylum to dispossessed American loyalists and would be built on the labour of young convicts. Matra offered to be its 'Conductor and Governor'. The Pitt administration concurred with Matra's proposal but declined to offer him the government of the intended colony. Instead he was given the post of Consul at Tangier, where he remained until his death in 1806. In this book Alan Frost has blended Matra's extensive and colourful correspondence with a biographical narrative to reveal for the first time the life and influence of this mysterious figure.

  • Format: Hardcover
  • Published: 1995
  • Edition: 1st Edition
  • Pages: 264
  • ISBN: 9780522846676

Hardcover pre-owned book in like new condition. 

View full details

Got a question, send us an email.