University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository Doctoral Dissertations Student Scholarship Spring 2003 Vocational science and the politics of independence: The Boston Marine Society, 1754--1812 Matthew Gaston McKenzie University of New Hampshire, Durham Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation Recommended Citation McKenzie, Matthew Gaston, "Vocational science and the politics of independence: The Boston Marine Society, 1754--1812" (2003). Doctoral Dissertations. 132. https://scholars.unh.edu/dissertation/132 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. VOCATIONAL SCIENCE AND THE POLITICS OF INDEPENDENCE: THE BOSTON MARINE SOCIETY, 1754-1812 BY MATTHEW GASTON McKENZIE BA, Boston University, 1992 MA, University of New Hampshire, 1998 DISSERTATION Submitted to the University o f New Hampshire in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree o f Doctor o f Philosophy in History May, 2003 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number 3083737 ___ ® UMI UMI Microform 3083737 Copyright 2003 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation has been examined and approved. Dissertation Co-Director, Jan V. Golinski, Professor o f History and Humanities DissertationiCjpflDirector, William Jeffrey Bolster, AssoQiaite Professor o f History Eliga H. Gould, Associate Professor of History f\k > Dane A Morrison, Associate Professor of History^ Jennifer S$lwyn>^ssistant Professor o^jstory /<fr ApfJt 2 0 0 5 Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION.........................................................................................................iv LIST OF TABLES.................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES................................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT.............................................................................................................vii INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................1 CHAPTER I: ORIGINS OF THE BOSTON MARINE SOCIETY, 1742-1759 ........................ 18 CHAPTER II: ESTABLISHING AUTHORITY IN NEW ENGLAND NAVIGATION AND SURVEYING...................................................................... 48 CHAPTER ID: THE MARINE SOCIETY IN BOSTON AND NATIONAL POLITICS, 1763-1798 ..................................................................... 82 CHAPTER IV: THE APEX OF VOCATIONAL SCIENCE, 1789-1800..................................... 135 CHAPTER V: MARKET, POLITICS, AND METHODOLOGY: THE END OF VOCATIONAL SCIENCE, 1800-1807...................................... 178 CONCLUSION........................................................................................................ 213 APPENDICES......................................................................................................... 217 BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................................223 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. This dissertation is dedicated to my mom, Carol S. McKenzie, 2nd in memory o f my &thcr, Robert A. McKenzie (November 7 ,1932-December 15,2002) Thank you for all you have given me. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Assessed Taxes in 1771 by 20% Brackets (£) ................................................................25 Table 2: Marine Society New Members by Year, 1742-1788 ..................................................... 28 Table 3: Members Captured and New Recruits by Year, 1755-1764 .......................................... 29 Table 4: BMS Office Holding and Wealth Bracket, 1753-1775 ................................................... 32 Table 5: Average Annual Value and Destinations of Commodity Exports from New England, 1768-1772 ......................................................................... 33 Table 6: BMS New Members by Year, 1781-1806 ..................................................................... 198 v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Nicholas Shapley, “Cape Fear River,” 1662 ................................................................ 60 Figure 2: The Running Traverse.....................................................................................................62 Figure 3: Hailey’s Surveying Methods .......................................................................................... 65 Figure 4: Mackenzie’s Orometric Method .................................................................................... 66 Figure 5: Detail of Pensacola Bay Area, Bernard Romans, Maps o f East and West Florida . 72 Figure 6: Detail of Mobile Bay Area, Bernard Romans, Maps o f East and West Florida ..........72 Figure 7: Detail of Coastal Profiles or Rutters, Bernard Romans, M aps o f Ea st a n d W est F lo rid a ...................................................................................... 73 Figure 8: Detail, J. F. W. DesBarres, [Chart of Plymouth Bay] ................................................... 75 Figure 9: Detail, DesBarres, J. F. W. [survey by James Grant and Samuel Holland], [Piscataqua Harbor] .........................................................................................................78 Figure 10: Detail of Mount Desert Island, DesBarres, [Coast of Maine from Frenchman Bay to Mosquito Harbor] ............................................................................79 Figure 11: Detail of Mount Desert Island south coast, U.S. Coast Survey, Frenchman and Blue H ill Bays and Approaches.......................................................... 80 Figure 12: Paul Pinkham, A Chart o f George ’s Bank, 1797 ........................................................ 128 Figure 13: H o p e 's Track in the South Atlantic .................................................................... 162-163 Figure 14: Detail, John Hills, [Boston Harbour, with the surroundings, etc.] ............................. 187 Figure 15: Detail of Nixes Mate, U.S. Coast Survey, Boston Harbor......................................... 187 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT VOCATIONAL SCIENCE AND THE POLITICS OF INDEPENDENCE: THE BOSTON MARINE SOCIETY, 1754-1812 by Matthew Gaston McKenzie University o f New Hampshire, May, 2003 Between 1754 and 1812 the Boston Marine Society developed vocational scientific practices adapted from day-to-day work routines to expand the navigational knowledge o f New England’s coastlines. For this reason, the Marine Society’s navigational work suggests important parallels with the history o f colonial science in other areas during the late eighteenth century. Notwithstanding most other studies in the history o f American science, the Boston Marine Society indicates that colonial Boston shipmasters were not dependent upon learned societies for their navigational research needs. Rather, they adapted their mutual aid society and developed methodologies to collect navigational observations, analyze them for reliability and accuracy, and in a few cases, publish their findings for the benefit o f the community. Given the close ties between seafaring,