Excerpt from A Salem Shipmaster and Merchant: The Autobiography of George Nichols IN editing the following Autobiography of my grandfather, George Nichols, I am influenced by the valued advice Of a friend who, having read the manuscript, expresses the opinion that it ought to be given to the public, not only on account of its worth historically, but as an interesting char acter sketch. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

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"Here is no catalogue of ships, reader, nor naval chronicle, but a story of maritime enterprise; of the shipping, seaborne commerce, whaling, and fishing belonging to one American commonwealth," writes S.E. Morison. "I have chosen to catch the story at half flood, when Massachusetts vessels first sought Far-Eastern waters, and to stay with it only so long as wind and sail would serve. For to one who has sailed a clipper ship, even in fancy, all later modes of ocean carriage must seem decadent." This classic work includes the following chapters: I. Coast and Sea II. The Colonial Background (1602-1760) III. Revolution and Reconstruction (1760-1788) IV. Pioneers of the Pacific (1784-1792) V. The Northwest Fur Trade (1788-1812) VI. The Canton Market (1784-1812) VII. The Salem East Indies (1790-1812) VIII. Ships and Seamen (1790-1812) IX. Merchants and Mansions (1782-1812) X. The Sacred Codfish (1784-1812) XI. Newburyport and Nantucket (1790-1812) XII. Federalism and Neutral Trade (1789-1807) XIII. Embargo and War (1807-1815) XIV. The Passing of Salem (1815-1845) XV. The Hub of the Universe (1830-1845) XVI. Ships and Seamen in Southern Seas (1820-1848) XVII. China and the East Indies (1820-1850) XVIII. Mediterranean and Baltic (1820-1850) XIX. Cape Cod and Cape Ann (1820-1860) XX. The Whalers (1815-1860) XXI. Oh! California (1844-1850) XXII. The Clipper Ship (1850-1854) XXIII. Conclusion (1857-1860)