Description

George Macartney (1737-1806) had a long and distinguished political and diplomatic career. He held the post of Secretary for Ireland, was successively governor of Grenada, Madras and the Cape Colony, and served as trade envoy to Russia and China. The son of an Irish landowner, Macartney rose in his profession through diligent diplomacy, perseverance, ambition and integrity; he gradually advanced in both the British and Irish peerage. This two-volume biography by Sir John Barrow, who had accompanied Macartney to China and the Cape, was first published in 1807, and draws heavily on official documents from Macartney's periods in office. Volume 1 contains Barrow's chronological account of Macartney's career, focusing especially on the challenges he faced in Madras. Volume 2 consists of substantial extracts from Macartney's own writings on Russia, China and Ireland, which provide valuable primary source material for historians of the eighteenth century.