When London Was Capital of America

About this book

In the years before independence the famous citys heyday as a beacon for colonial Americans Ambitious . . . lively. . . . Beautifully reimagining a city that was a distant but integral part of American life Flavells book is essential reading for anyone interested in the colonial period.Andrea Wulf New York Times Book Review Benjamin Franklin secretly loved London more than Philadelphia: it was simply the most exciting place to be in the British Empire. And in the decade before the outbreak of the American Revolution thousands of his fellow colonists flocked to the Georgian city in its first big wave of American visitors. At the very point of political rupture mother country and colonies were socially and culturally closer than ever before. In this first-ever portrait of eighteenth-century London as the capital of America Julie M. Flavell re-creates the famous citys heyday as the center of an empire that encompassed North America and the West Indies. The momentous years before independence saw more colonial Americans than ever in Londons streets: wealthy Southern plantation owners in quest of culture enslaved people hoping for a chance of freedom Yankee businessmen looking for opportunities even Ben Franklin seeking a second more distinguished career. The stories of the colonials no innocents abroad vividly re-create a time when Americans saw London as their own and remind us of the complex multiracialat times even decadentnature of Americas colonial British heritage.