KINGSTON, R.I. – Jan. 21, 2026 – During the United States’ infancy following the American Revolution, Americans still sailed in an Anglo-Atlantic world controlled by the British. But such sailing was anything but smooth.

In her new book, “Risk in the Anglo-Atlantic World: The American Ship John Jay, the HMS Driver, and the Napoleonic Wars,” University of Rhode Island Assistant History Professor Catherine DeCesare places the experiences of the American merchant ship John Jay—part of a large fleet of ships owned by Providence merchants, Brown and Ives—within the context of the Napoleonic Wars. 

“It demonstrates how Americans were impacted by the natural hazards of wind, weather and water, the economic difficulties of maritime trade, the complexity and ambiguity of domestic policy, international relations, and war,” DeCesare said.  

DeCesare’s book, released this month by Bloomsbury Press, features the John Jay’s history and demonstrates how the global conflict between Britain and France led to the seizure of the John Jay as a prize of war, and that the capture, and the subsequent litigation makes visible the struggles and risks faced by ordinary people in these troubled times.

Before arriving at URI, in 2008 DeCesare worked as an archivist, where she organized, arranged and described Brown and Ives family, business and maritime records at Brown University’s John Carter Brown Library. Four years ago, DeCesare decided to revisit this collection. As her project developed, DeCesare found additional sources in Bermuda, and at The National Archives in Kew, London.

As part of her study, DeCesare created a data set of latitude and longitude coordinates extracted from the logbooks of both the John Jay and the HMS Driver. This data was used to create unique maps which are included in the book.

“While the book is centered in Rhode Island, the story has a global dimension. It’s about international trade and it’s set within the context of the Napoleonic Wars,” DeCesare said. “This story examines the chaos and the challenges that the ship and her people encountered over this short period of time. It is noteworthy in terms of what happened to the vessel and to the people on board this one ship on this one voyage.”

Two years of troubled waters

DeCesare says part of her book tells the story of ordinary people who, while engaging in trade, were caught in the crosshairs of a war between Britain and France, and some sailors on the John Jay, never returned home. 

“It’s a story of ordinary people and gives a voice to the voiceless,” DeCesare said. “The men were doing their job, and what happened to them had a ripple effect on the community. Many families in Providence relied on seaman’s pay for support. I wanted this book to reach a wide audience, and anybody interested in maritime history.”

The book details the John Jay’s sixth voyage. The ship left Providence in the fall of 1804 bound for Amsterdam as its first port of call. The voyage was challenging from the start. On the first leg alone, the vessel ran aground, encountered poor weather, collided with another vessel and got lost in the North Sea all before reaching the first destination. The winter of 1804-1805 was especially harsh, and the John Jay was iced in for months, says DeCesare. The ship then sailed on to Batavia, now Jakarta, Indonesia.

On the return voyage to Rhode Island, in early January 1806, the John Jay was captured by the HMS Driver and brought to Bermuda on charges of trading illegally with France, states DeCesare. This violent act resulted in a lengthy legal process for Brown and Ives; they eventually won on appeal in London, but not without financial and personal costs.

“While litigation was pending, Brown and Ives ended up repurchasing their own ship at auction in Bermuda, along with what was left of their very valuable cargo, which included coffee, sugar, and pepper,” DeCesare said. “That was, in today’s comparable terms, worth millions of dollars.”

The U.S. at the time was weak under President Thomas Jefferson’s administration, and it did not respond to the John Jay’s capture due to political conflict between the federal government and New England, DeCesare said. 

“The political party of Jefferson was not in favor with New England Federalists,” she said. “The ship’s name John Jay (named for a prominent Federalist and first Supreme Court Chief Justice) in and of itself was indicative of the ship’s owners political leanings and party.”

DeCesare had previously written multiple articles highlighting colonial Rhode Island that were published by local organizations, including The Cocumscussoc Association (Smith’s Castle) in North Kingstown and the Rhode Island Publications Society. She co-directs the Applied History Lab, and she regularly incorporates her research and writings into her teaching. This coming year, DeCesare will include pivotal moments of the John Jay’s harrowing voyage in her Rhode Island history classes.