An Incredible Voyage

It strikes me that as a group we widely criticized John Thornton in The Kongolese Saint Anthony for having excessive historical context in his book that was not specifically tied to his main character, but yet in The Diligent, Robert Harms weaves in as much context as Thornton but the result is far more pleasing to the reader.  Perhaps this is because Harms has interesting characters (unrelated to the main character) that the reader wants to learn more about (I'm thinking of Bulfinch Lambe here!) than the tribal characters of Thornton's Kongo.  Perhaps it is because Harms is more skillful in weaving in portions of the Diligent's voyage alongside its historical context.  At any rate, one does not feel that the book ever leaves the story of the Diligent, whereas in Saint Anthony, one feels that the author is having trouble reaching the story. 

Harms certainly could have slimmed down his historical context, perhaps by eliminating or reducing time spent on such subjects as slavery in France or religious battles in Sao Tome.  On the other hand, those diversions expose certain hypocrisy which is one of the underlying themes of Harms' book.  But by never really abandoning the primary subject matter, the voyage of the Diligent, I think Harms shows us the key element of a microhistory:  looking at a larger history through the perspective of a smaller history.  And above all, the book is a triumph simply because it is fascinating history, with broad revelations such as the extent of the globalization of trade during this period, or interesting facts such as the risks of slaving voyages to the crews who undertook them as well as to the slaves.  Just an outstanding book!