Arriving in Mexican California in 1832, Thomas O. Larkin (1802-1858) expected to become a rich man-and he did: he became a successful merchant, financier, and land developer. Larkin also became the confidant of California officials, American consul to California, and secret agent of the president of the United States during the territory’s transition from Mexican to American control. Harlan Hague and David Langum have uncovered a large body of new information, shedding light on many aspects of Larkin’s personal life as well as on his business and diplomatic activities. Historians and general readers will welcome this full-scale biography of one of the most important men in the history of early California.

Official correspondence of Thomas O. Larkin as U.S. Consul at Monterey, California, and later U.S. Navy Agent.

Reproduces Larkin's diary, which recounts his travels in North Carolina and Charleston and Camden, S.C., between 1821 and 1826.