The Barsden Memoirs (1799-1816)

Covering the life of Josephus Henry Barsden from his birth in 1799 through his childhood to 16 years of age, the Barsden memoirs describe events from a Sussex smugglers inn, a convict ship to the colony of New South Wales, sealing and whaling expeditions to Van Diemens Land, and Barsdens participation in a Tahitian civil war. The author assesses the value of memoirs, and of these memoirs in particular to students of history in respect to the transnational paradigm. He tests the historicity and veracity of their contents, and provides an engaging exegesis and graphical supplement of its contents. Of central importance is Barsdens account of the Battle of Fei Pi, which was in many respects the Pacifics equivalent to the contemporaneous Battle of Waterloo, such was its lasting impact on Pacific geopolitics. This was no ordinary childhood, and poses many questions about a transnational adolescents impact on major events. A fascinating read for scholars and students of Australian, Pacific, and British Colonial History, written with academic rigour but accessible to non-specialists.