Quaker, Whaler, Traitor, Spy!

Accused of treason four times by three governments, William Rotch led a harrowing life. A Quaker merchant in the Age of Revolution, he refused to fight for either independence or empire. To governments and neighbors, his pacifism looked like treachery. As he fled from Nantucket to France to Britain and back again, Rotch suffered looting, confiscation, inquisitions, and the threat of imprisonment and execution for his principled refusal to fight.

Yet Rotch was also a beneficiary of these turbulent years. Drawing on fresh archival research, Sarah Crabtree reveals how Rotch turned revolutionary upheaval to his advantage. He used his whaling ships to dodge national borders, claim multiple residences, and play rival governments against one another, building a vast fortune even as he faced trials for these disloyalties. Beginning with the Boston Tea Party—when his family’s ships carried the infamous cargo—Rotch’s story illuminates the contested ideals of freedom, capitalism, and conscience in the Revolutionary Atlantic world.

Quaker, Whaler, Traitor, Spy! uses the comic form to tell this remarkable story from all angles, showing how different sources paint Rotch’s character in different lights. Through striking visuals and careful storytelling, this graphic history invites readers to question how history gets made and how we ought to reconcile seemingly contradictory accounts. Both engaging narrative and scholarly case study, this book is not only ideal for methods courses and classes in US history but also an accessible and compelling read for general audiences.

“In art and text, Crabtree gives us a brilliant demonstration of the power of comics to illuminate the journey of the historian, the contingencies of narrative, and the motivations of humans.”—Trevor Getz, author of Abina and the Important Men: A Graphic History

“Quaker, Whaler, Traitor, Spy! shows how serious research, graphic art, and reflections on history can create fun and free-spirited learning for students and general readers alike.”—Marcus Rediker, coauthor of Under the Banner of King Death: Pirates of the Atlantic, a Graphic Novel

“Skillfully navigating the treacherous terrain between historical truth and relativism, Whaler, Traitor, Coward, Spy! is ideal for introducing students to how professional historians grapple with the problem of knowing the past.”—Rafe Blaufarb, author of The Revolutionary Atlantic: Republican Visions, 1760-1830

“Crabtree’s graphic history is both novel and compelling. Through the story of brothers William and Francis Rotch, Crabtree guides readers into the world of the historian, where conclusions can and do change. This innovative and important work is a reminder that historians research, reconstruct, and represent the past in multifaceted ways.”—Robynne Rogers Healey, author of Quakerism in the Atlantic World, 1690–1830

Sarah Crabtree is Professor of History at San Francisco State University. She is the author of Holy Nation: The Transatlantic Quaker Ministry in an Age of Revolution.

Melissa Philley is a graduate of the MFA in Comics program at California College of the Arts. She uses traditional and digital tools to create longform comics in a variety of styles and genres.

Biography & Memoir

History

           Eighteenth-century

           History of Religion

           U.S.

Religious Studies & Religion

           History of Religion