A tale of three patriots in a revolutionary world: Théophile Cazenove, Jacques-Pierre Brissot, and Joel Barlow (1788-1811)

This essay is about three trans-Atlantic patriots living during the Revolutionary era who were involved in the sale of American lands in Europe. Besides the problems caused by land speculation, these men confronted (directly or indirectly) revolutionary politics. The vagaries of commerce and politics presented everyday problems and illustrate how difficult it was for actors to fulfill their objectives. The topic permits an exploration of the nature of trans-Atlantic networks and enables us to assess the validity of actor network theory using historical data. It reveals the mobility and dynamic character of trans-Atlantic connections while stressing the importance of images of America as stock-jobbing and as a utopia in eighteenth-century Europe.