Background
John Melish was born on June 13, 1771 in Methven, Perthshire, Scotland, where he spent his early years.
(This description of Baltimore was made by John Melish (17...)
This description of Baltimore was made by John Melish (1771-1822), a Scottish-born mapmaker and traveler who visited the United States a number of times between 1806 and 1811. He settled in Philadelphia in 1811, where he died in 1822. He is best known as the first person to publish a map of the United States that extended all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Baltimore, the biggest city in the state of Maryland, has attracted media attention in recent years because of rioting against police brutality in April and May 2015. The unrest was sparked by the death of a 25-year old African-American man, Freddie Gray, in police custody. The city’s criminal underground was dramatized in the critically-acclaimed HBO television series “The Wire”. Maryland is a small Mid-Atlantic state, bordered by Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. in the south and west, by Pennsylvania in the north, and Delaware in the west. The colony of Maryland was founded by Sir George Calvert, 1st Lord Baltimore, as a refuge for British Roman Catholics. George Calvert obtained a charter for the colony in from King Charles I in 1632. He died that year, and the charter was inherited by his son, Cecil Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore. The new colony was named Maryland in honor of Charles I’s wife, Henrietta Maria of France. The first settlers set out for the new colony in 1633, arriving in 1634. The early colony of Maryland thrived due to the tobacco planting. The Port of Baltimore was created in 1706 to facilitate the tobacco trade. In 1729 the town of Baltimore was founded near the port. It was named for the colony’s first governor, Cecil Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore. Baltimore grew rapidly in the 18th and early 19th centuries due to its role as a major seaport. Baltimore served as a major import and export center for surrounding states. The West Indian trade was particularly important for the city. Some of the major European colonies in the Caribbean focused on producing sugar, devoting their most productive land to sugarcane rather than food crops. This, and the large enslaved African workforce needed to produce sugar, forced these islands to import food to feed themselves. Sugar was exported from the West Indies, and the West Indies imported food, much of it from North America, in return. The foodstuffs imported by the West Indian colonies included flour, salted meats, and salted fish (especially cod from New England and Newfoundland in Atlantic Canada). Great Britain contributed manufactured goods to the Atlantic commerce. Pennsylvanian farmers grew wheat, and then exported flour via Baltimore. Tropical plantation goods from the West Indies, including sugar, rum, and coffee- were imported into Baltimore, and then reshipped by merchants there. British manufactured goods also arrived in the port in large volumes, and were then sold to the inhabitants of the hinterland. Two of the other major ports in the early 19th century United States were Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the North, and Savannah, Georgia, in the South. In John Melish’s opinion, Baltimore was a better place to conduct trade than either of those two competitors.
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(Excerpt from Travels in the United States of America, in ...)
Excerpt from Travels in the United States of America, in the Years 1806 and 1807, and 1809, 1810 and 1811, Vol. 2 of 2: Including an Account of Passages Betwixt America and Britain, and Travels Through Various Parts of Great Britain, Ireland, and Upper Canada Chapter XXIII. P. 209. Cross the Ohio river. Rich scenery. An economist. Eagle creek. A dinner. General information to emigrants. West Union. Domestic manufactures. Brush creek. Sinking springs. W. Bainbridge. General information Paint creek. Chillicothe. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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(This is an early 19th century description of the Mid-Atla...)
This is an early 19th century description of the Mid-Atlantic state of Maryland. Maryland is bordered by Washington, D.C., Virginia, and West Virginia in the south and west, Pennsylvania in the north, and by Delaware in the east. The state capital is Annapolis, and the largest city in the port of Baltimore. The idea for the colony of Maryland was developed in the 1630s by George Calvert, the 1st Lord Baltimore. Calvert wanted to establish a place in North America where English Roman Catholics could enjoy religious freedom. King Charles I granted Calvert a charter for the colony in 1632, but Calvert died that year. The actual establishment of the colony fell on George Calvert’s son, Cecil Calvert, the 2nd Lord Baltimore. The new colony was named “Maryland” in honor of King Charles I’s wife, Henrietta Maria of France. Although many of the Maryland settlers were not Catholic, religious tolerance was enshrined in the colony’s constitution. The first settlers landed in 1634, and were followed by many others, attracted to land and tobacco planting opportunities. The first capital of the colony was St. Mary’s City, on the St. Mary River. The city of Baltimore was founded in the 1720s, and soon became the colony’s major seaport and commercial center. After the American Revolution, Maryland won its independence from Britain and became an American state. The state gained prosperity as an import-export center via Baltimore. Imports from the West Indies (such as sugar and coffee) and Great Britain (manufactured goods) were imported through Baltimore and then sent overland into neighboring states. Goods from surrounding states, like Pennsylvanian flour, were exported through Baltimore. This description of Maryland in the early 19th century was written by John Melish, a British-born American mapmaker. Melish traveled to the United States several times in the early 1800s before settling there permanently. He is remembered for creating the first map of the United States that showed the Pacific Ocean.
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(This short description of Glasgow around the beginning of...)
This short description of Glasgow around the beginning of the 19th century was written by Scottish-born mapmaker John Melish (1771-1822). Melish worked in a Glasgow merchant company, and visited the United States a number of times in the early 19th century. Finally, he settled permanently in the United States. He is best known as the author of the first map of the US that showed the Pacific Ocean. Glasgow is the biggest city in Scotland, larger than the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. People have lived in the Glasgow area since prehistoric times. In ancient times the Romans ruled England, but much of Scotland, which they called Caledonia, lay outside of Roman control. The Romans occupied southern Scotland for a period of time. The northern boundary of Roman control in Scotland was marked by the Antonine Wall, which ran through what is now the Greater Glasgow area. The Antonine Wall was north of the more famous Hadrian’s Wall in northern England. The Romans had difficulty maintaining control over southern Scotland, however, and they were forced to withdraw from the area a number of times. Roman territory in southern Scotland and England were faced attacks from the Picts, or Caledonians, the ancient inhabitants of Scotland. After the end of the Roman Empire, the Glasgow area became part of the Celtic Briton kingdom of Strathclyde, which control parts of Scotland and northern England. Strathclyde, and other kingdoms in Scotland, were eventually united into a single Scottish Kingdom. Early medieval Scotland was home to several different ethnic groups. There were Britons (related to the ancient Celtic people of England), the Picts, Gaels, Norse, and Angles. The Picts were an early medieval people who may have been related to the ancient Caledonians encountered by the Romans in Scotland. They may have been related to the ancient Celtic Britons of England. The Norse, or Vikings, were Scandinavian immigrants who raided and settled across Europe in early medieval times. They settled in some parts of Scotland (as well as in England, France, and elsewhere). The Angles, along with Saxons and Jutes, were Germanic tribes who settled in England after the end of the Roman Empire, bringing the ancestor of the English language with them. The Gaels seems to have immigrated to Scotland from Ireland. In medieval times, the Gaelic language became the main language spoken in Scotland. English, however, was spoken in some parts of southern Scotland. In medieval times Glasgow served as an important bishopric. Beginning in the 17th century, Glasgow’s importance as a trading and manufacturing centre grew. The city was enriched by international commerce, trading goods like sugar, cotton, and tobacco. By the 19th century it had become a major industrial and manufacturing centre, and eventually surpassed Edinburgh in population. In his description of Glasgow, Melish emphasizes the city’s important textile industry, which was largely based on cotton imported from the southern United States and elsewhere.
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( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
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(Excerpt from Letter to James Monroe, Esq.: President of t...)
Excerpt from Letter to James Monroe, Esq.: President of the United States, on the State of the Country The situation of the countries from whence our foreign manufactures have been principally drawn, authorises the expectation, that in the event of a monopoly of the home market being secured to our cotton and woollen manufactures, a considerable portion of the manufacturing skill and industry of those countries will be promptly transferred to the United States, and incorporated with the domestic capital of the Union. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
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This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
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John Melish was born on June 13, 1771 in Methven, Perthshire, Scotland, where he spent his early years.
John Melish attended the parish school. He was apprenticed to a wealthy cotton factor in Glasgow who permitted him to take the examinations at Glasgow University with his own son, and in time he became a member of his employer's firm. In 1798 he voyaged to the West Indies and on the trip began to study geography and navigation.
In 1806 John sailed to Savannah, Georgia, and there established a mercantile house of his own through which passed manufactured goods from abroad and raw cotton from the South. He traveled extensively through the cotton states, taking numerous notes as he went with the intention of publishing later a work on the geographical, social, and political character of the United States. In 1807 he returned to Scotland, but in 1808 his business suffered from the effects of the Orders in Council and the Non-Intercourse acts, and in 1809 he again sailed to the United States to look after his affairs, bringing his family with him. For a time he was in New York, engaged in the importing business, then he resumed his travels in America, this time through Upper Canada and the West. In 1811 he settled in Philadelphia, which was thereafter his home. He decided to write the narrative of his travels in America, hoping that it would encourage British subjects to emigrate to the United States, and in 1812 he published in two volumes Travels in the United States of America, in the Years 1806 & 1807, and 1809, 1810 & 1811. The work was republished, with a slight variation in the title, in 1815 and 1818. Melish displayed his talent for draftsmanship in the eight maps which illustrated the work. "Here is a kind of phenomenon, " said a reviewer in the Port Folio, "two whole volumes of travels in America; without any material errors; with no palpable falsehoods; no malignant abuse of individuals; no paltry calumnies on the institutions of the United States. A singular example of the good temper, the sound sense, and the candid feelings which a sensible foreigner has brought to the examination of our country. " While Melish was engaged in drawing the maps for his first work, it was suggested to him that a map of the seat of the War of 1812 would be useful, and from his own and two British army maps he compiled A Military and Topographical Atlas of the United States, Including the British Possessions & Florida (1813), which was republished in enlarged form in 1815. Melish died in Philadelphia and, although he was not a Quaker, was buried in the ground of the Free Quakers.
(This reproduction was printed from a digital file created...)
(This description of Baltimore was made by John Melish (17...)
(This short description of Glasgow around the beginning of...)
( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)
(Excerpt from Travels in the United States of America, in ...)
(This is an early 19th century description of the Mid-Atla...)
(Excerpt from Letter to James Monroe, Esq.: President of t...)
Melish had married, in Scotland, Isabella Moncrieff.
