At the close of the Revolution, New England merchants were eager to trade with the East Indies and with Canton, China, in particular.  The ship Columbia-Rediviva and the sloop Lady Washington opened the Boston-China Trade by sailing around Cape Horn to the Northwest coast (hence the name of the Columbia River) where they traded for sea otter furs, highly prized in China; on to the Hawaiian Islands for sandalwood; and then to Canton.  When the Columbia returned to Boston by sailing across the Indian Ocean and around the Cape of Good Hope, it was the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe.

Provenance of the manuscript log and narrative: Gift of Rebecca Haswell Clarke Cummings, 1947.