DiscoverThe John Batchelor Show30: 2. Washington, Land Speculation, and the Heart of American Darkness Professor Robert G. Parkinson, Heart of American Darkness: Bewilderment and Horror on the Early Frontier This section explores the theme of "bewilderment" on the American frontier, drawin
30: 2. Washington, Land Speculation, and the Heart of American Darkness Professor Robert G. Parkinson, Heart of American Darkness: Bewilderment and Horror on the Early Frontier This section explores the theme of "bewilderment" on the American frontier, drawin

30: 2. Washington, Land Speculation, and the Heart of American Darkness Professor Robert G. Parkinson, Heart of American Darkness: Bewilderment and Horror on the Early Frontier This section explores the theme of "bewilderment" on the American frontier, drawin

Update: 2025-10-27
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2. Washington, Land Speculation, and the Heart of American Darkness Professor Robert G. Parkinson, Heart of American Darkness: Bewilderment and Horror on the Early Frontier



This section explores the theme of "bewilderment" on the American frontier, drawing parallels to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. The conversation notes the intense confusion and tribal conflicts involving colonials, Native Americans, the French, and the British. A key focus is George Washington's role as a land speculator and partner in the Ohio Company. The company sought vast lands near the Forks of the Ohio (Pittsburgh). The Cresap family patriarch, Thomas Cresap, and his oldest son, Daniel, were original partners, making the Cresaps well-known to Washington and integral to the colonial advance that escalated tensions with the French.




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30: 2. Washington, Land Speculation, and the Heart of American Darkness Professor Robert G. Parkinson, Heart of American Darkness: Bewilderment and Horror on the Early Frontier This section explores the theme of "bewilderment" on the American frontier, drawin

30: 2. Washington, Land Speculation, and the Heart of American Darkness Professor Robert G. Parkinson, Heart of American Darkness: Bewilderment and Horror on the Early Frontier This section explores the theme of "bewilderment" on the American frontier, drawin

John Batchelor