Dunmore’s New World: The Extraordinary Life of a Royal Governor in Revolutionary America—with Jacobites, Counterfeiters, Land Schemes, Shipwrecks, Scalping, Indian Politics, Runaway Slaves, and Two Illegal Royal Weddings by James Corbett David (review)

As one of the defining events in American history, the War for Independence provided a dramatic arena for the creation of the nation’s first great heroes. For every George Washington, however, the war seems to have created a Benedict Arnold. The conflict thus equally resulted in the creation of the nation’s first great villains. Although not nearly as present in modern American’s memory as Arnold, John Murray, the fourth earl of Dunmore, became an early villain to American revolutionaries for recruiting and arming slaves in Virginia, while that colony’s last royal governor. As a consequence, James Corbett David notes that “historians have characterized Dunmore as a greedy incompetent” (3). In Dunmore’s New World, David attempts to rectify this portrayal by providing a more nuanced version of the governor’s career that takes into account the complexities of Dunmore’s character and motivation.

David’s Dunmore proves more human than villainous. Where his detractors detected greed, the author demonstrates the financial woes of a father of a large family whose estates in Britain proved insufficient to maintain an aristocratic lifestyle. Where those same detractors identified incompetence, David suggests the very real complexities of colonial and British politics as factors in the failures of the governor, reminding the reader that “this was a quid-pro-quo empire, and political authority came at a price” (67). The author consequently portrays a more pragmatic Dunmore, who was more effective, even-handed and complex than others have suggested. Preferring hierarchy, he actively negotiated with colonial elites. A slave owner, he appears to have truly believed in defending the liberty of the slaves to whom he had offered freedom in exchange for imperial service. Committed to his belief in the superiority of British civilization, he dealt fairly with Native Americans. And while conspicuously clinging to his aristocratic status, he fought strenuously for even the most humble loyalist after the American Revolution. If these disparities appear difficult to explain, the author has provided a reasonable explanation, suggesting that the governor’s experience as a Scottish supporter of Prince Charles’s failed 1745 rebellion produced in him a lifelong sympathy for the underdog.

David is not, however, a Dunmore apologist. Rather, he has provided context to better understand the governor. This context represents the contribution of the author’s work. Dunmore’s career proved so complex that it forces David to examine in some detail slavery, Native American diplomacy, the evolving relationship between periphery and metropole, British politics, and imperial rivalries. These explorations, particularly those involving slaves and Native Americans, leads the author to frequently reflect on themes of bottom-up history. While this focus is certainly admirable and valuable, at times his commitment to reminding the reader of this reality is overdone and detracts from the narrative. Regardless, students and scholars of any of these varied themes will find value in the book.

Due to David’s focus on these areas, readers looking for a true biography might be disappointed. Years pass in Dunmore’s life with nary a word on what he was up to, only to have the narrative pick up when major events in Dunmore’s career occur. This, however, reflects the author’s focus. Rather than provide a traditional, detailed biography, David has attempted to provide a broader perspective on the twilight of British colonial America through the career of one of its more reviled agents. In that, he has spectacularly succeeded.