Travels Through the Interior Parts of North America: In the Years 1766, 1767, and 1768 - Softcover

Born in Massachusetts in 1710, Jonathan Carver joined the Massachusetts Colonial Militia at the age of 45 at the beginning of the French and Indian War. He worked his way through the ranks, first with Burke’s Rangers and then with Roger’s Rangers. In 1761, he became Captain of a Massachusetts provincial regiment.Following Britain’s victory over France, Carver decided to use the surveying and cartography skills he had acquired during his military experience to chart the northern plains in an attempt to find the Northwest Passage. “It appeared to me indispensably needful,” he wrote, “that the Government should be acquainted in the first place with the true state of the dominions they were now become possessed of.” The British government had offered a considerable prize to the first person to discover a new transcontinental trade route with the East. Royal Governor Robert Rogers sponsored Carver’s exploration, however, when Roberts was arrested and tried for treason (a charge for which he would later be proven not guilty), Carver was left carrying the expenses of his expedition. Carver eventually moved to England, leaving his family behind in the colonies. He spent the remainder of his life seeking reimbursement from the government. It was during this time in his life that he wrote this account, detailing of the experiences of his exploration of what is now Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Iowa. Carver suspected the French had purposefully misrepresented the people and natural resources of the region, and believed it was important both to set the record straight as well as to present his recommendations regarding potential British Colonization.