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Works of Herman Melville: Billy Budd: Preface, Chapters 1 - 9

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From: Monarch Notes
Date: 19630101
Author:Melville, Herman

Melville, Herman
Monarch Notes
01-01-1963
Billy Budd: Preface, Chapters 1 - 9

Preface

The year 1797 was a violent one. In 1775, the American Colonists had
revolted; in 1789, the French had overthrown the monarchy; and now the French
and English, hereditary enemies, were engaged in the first of the Napoleonic
wars. Made bold, perhaps by the revolutionary spirit of the age, the sailors
of the British fleet at Spithead and Nore had recently mutinied, seeking
redress for some of the abuse and ill treatment then common. Although the
mutinies were ended by the hanging of the ringleaders, some badly ...

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