Aaron Thomas Journal, 1798.

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The journal of Aaron Thomas chronicles the experiences of a British seaman serving in the Royal Navy aboard HMS Lapwing in the West Indies during the French Revolutionary wars. The journal begins on June 15, 1788 and concludes on October 26, 1799, and contains insightful, first-hand accounts of naval operations and humerous anecdotes involving shipmates and superiors. Thomas arrived in the West Indies in 1797 and found an economy built on the sugar trade and a society comprised of slaves, plantation owners, and men of the navy.

From the Aaron Thomas Papers Collection.