Research Catalog

Title

Pitt's Gallant conqueror : the turbulent life of Lieutenant-General Sir William Draper K.B. / James Dreaper.

Author

Dreaper, James.

Publication

London : I.B. Tauris, 2006.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xii, 258 pages : illustrations; 24 cm

Summary

• "The capture of Manila from the Spanish in October 1762 was an impressive victory, masterminded by a truly extraordinary leader. It was a battle that took British forces to the edge of the known world and caused William Pitt the Elder to refer to the General that commanded it, William Draper, as 'Manila's gallant conqueror'. Pitt's Gallant Conqueror tells the story of a brilliant general who also became a figure of controversy after becoming the victim of the political satirist 'Junius'. His greatest triumph - gaining a toehold in Manila and thus the Philippines - was marred as he fought long and hard for his 'just rewards' from the Manila ransom agreement and attracted savage satire."
• "From his early years as a Guards officer in London, Draper had become a familiar figure in the social life of the capital where like so many of his peers he was in chronic financial straits from his gambling habits. A popular figure, he became a Fellow of King's College, Cambridge as well as a writer, sportsman, friend of poets and family man. His network of friends resulted in an incidental and lasting legacy from his involvement with drafting the laws of cricket."
• "Using previously unpublished sources, James Dreaper has produced a groundbreaking new assessment of this unusual military figure, and a portrait of the times in which he served. Pitt's Gallant Conqueror illuminates the turbulent years of the mid eighteenth-century when there was still opportunity for military entrepreneurs to stamp their own mark on events."--Jacket.

Subjects

• Great Britain
• Generals
• Geschichte 1762-1787
• 1727 - 1820
• Draper, William (Soldat)
• Draper, William, Sir, 1721-1787
• Biographies
• History
• Großbritannien
• Great Britain > History > George III, 1760-1820
• Great Britain > History > George II, 1727-1760
• Kolonialkrieg
• Marine
• Generals > Great Britain > Biography

Genre/Form

• History.
• Biographies.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 247-252) and index.

Contents

Pt. I. Forming claims to authority -- Uncertain opportunities -- Steps towards visibility -- Pleasures of peace: call to command -- To India and a siege -- Offers and departures -- Pt. II. Chimera: the lure and the reality -- Ideas from a voyage to China -- Peace delayed: war widened -- The Manila plan is launched -- Hustle and arguments -- Pressures of wider events -- Coup de main -- Frustrations -- Pt. III. Illusions in slow dissolve -- Quarrels in Manila -- A muted welcome in England -- Intruding realities -- Manila: the last stages -- The Falklands linkage -- Public and private concerns -- Pt. IV. Late challenges and dismays -- Junius challenged -- Junius revisited -- American connections -- Domestic generosities -- Final call to arms -- Court martial -- Chimera renewed.

ISBN

• 9781845111779
• 184511177X

LCCN

• 2006286177
• 9781845111779

OCLC

• ocm63137075
• 63137075
• SCSB-14008809

Owning Institutions

Princeton University Library