Rebecca Boone
Rebecca Ard Boone is the author of four books, War, Domination, and the Monarchy of France, Mercurino di Gattinara and the Creation of the Spanish Empire, Real Lives in the Sixteenth Century, and Real Lives in the Eighteenth Century. She earned her Ph.D. in early-modern European history from Rutgers University in 2000 and currently serves as Professor of History and Dean of Arts and Sciences at Lamar University in Texas.
Lamar University
Session
Real Lives in the Eighteenth Century presents a global history using four sets of biographies to illustrate corresponding situations in different geographical regions. Loosely based on Plutarch's Parallel Lives, the four chapters focus on maritime trade, letters, empire, and revolution. The vibrant narratives that span four continents include the following pairs: Tupaia (c.1725-1770) and Olaudah Equiano (c.1745-1797), seafarers of the Pacific and Atlantic; Phillis Wheatley (c.1753-1784), and Ho Xuan Huong (c.1772-c.1822), poets of revolution; Marie Antoinette (1745-1792) and Catherine the Great (1729-1796), princesses at foreign courts; and José Gabriel Túpac Amaru (c.1742-1781) and Toussaint Louverture (c.1743-1803), leaders of revolutions. As a global history, this volume covers political upheaval in five regions: America, France, Haiti, Peru, and Vietnam. It explores key concepts such as freedom, knowledge, and trade in relation to the bondage and exploitation that accompanied the expansion of world empires and international trade systems. Taking the indomitable human spirit as its guiding theme, Real Lives includes dramatic stories of triumph, defeat, and unimaginable survival. It immerses readers in the fascinating, inspiring, and often tragic aspects of life in the eighteenth century.