author
James Swan
1754–1830
A Scottish-born patriot, merchant, and writer, he lived a life that stretched from the Boston Tea Party to financial battles in Paris. His story mixes revolution, commerce, and an unusually dramatic rise and fall.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Fife, Scotland, in 1754, he moved to Boston as a boy and became deeply involved in the American Revolution. He joined the Sons of Liberty, took part in the Boston Tea Party, and was wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill before serving in public roles for Massachusetts during the war.
Swan later built a reputation as a merchant and financier with strong ties to both the United States and France. He also wrote about trade, public finance, and relations between the two countries, showing a practical interest in how commerce and government policy shaped the young republic.
His life ended far from Boston and on a strikingly different note: after years of large financial dealings in Europe, he died in Paris in 1830. That arc—from revolutionary activist to international businessman and author—gives his work an unusual sense of firsthand experience.