Ploughing The South Sea

A History of Merchant Shipping on the West Coast of South America

by E. JOHN McGARRY


Formats

Softcover
£12.99
Softcover
£12.99

Book Details

Language : English
Publication Date : 16/02/2006

Format : Softcover
Dimensions : 6x9
Page Count : 376
ISBN : 9781420829853

About the Book

“Ploughing the Sea” is borrowed from the text of a letter sent by Simón Bolívar to one of his lieutenants, complaining that governing his country in the early 19th Century with its never-ending problems was like ploughing the sea; no sooner had the difficulties been pushed aside, they would inevitably, after a short period, flow back again to their original chaotic state.

The “South Sea” was the name given by Balboa in 1513 to that stretch of the Pacific Ocean south of the Bay of Panama and extending to the Strait of Magellan.

Given the problems associated with this region, the title is particularly apt.  “Ploughing the South Sea” is a study of economic, social and political factors contributing to an affecting the development of merchant shipping along the West Coast of South America, from the Spanish Imperial Era to the end of the 20th Century.


About the Author

E.John McGarry was former Crew Purser on Pacific Steam Navigation Company’s flagship ss Reina del Mar. He left that company in 1964 after marrying Elena whom he met on that liner.  Employed for thirty years by various Local Government Authorities in North Wales, the New Forest and ultimately in Yorkshire, he left in 1996 after 23 years service as a Town Clerk to a small Yorkshire Local Authority. He then entered the service of Ofsted as a School’s Lay Inspector before finally retiring in 2002 to finish researching and writing “Ploughing The South Sea”.  Fluent in Spanish, which he studied at Liverpool College of Commerce, he also holds a BA degree in Mathematics and Technology.