The Fabulous History of the Dismal Swamp Company: A Story of George Washington's Times

From historian Charles Royster--winner of the Francis Parkman, Bancroft, and Lincoln prizes--comes the history of one of eighteenth-century America's most fantastic land speculation deals: William Byrd's scheme to develop 900 square miles of swamp on the Virginia-North Carolina border and create fabulous wealth for himself and other shareholders, including George Washington.

Royster scrupulously follows the paper trail through the byways of transatlantic deal-cutting, providing a rare view of early American economic culture. Elegantly written and impressively researched, The Fabulous History of the Dismal Swamp Company is an eye-opening account of greed, folly, and venture capitalism in the revolutionary era.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 12/05/2000
ISBN: 9780679753056
Pages: 640
Weight: 1.26lbs
Size: 7.97h x 5.22w x 1.31d