The concluding volume of a prestigious documentary edition; This, the sixteenth and final volume of The Papers of Henry Laurens, covers the last ten years of the statesman's life. During this period, Henry Laurens spent a hectic twenty-two months as a peace commissioner traveling between Paris and London, conferring with British ministers and his colleagues on the peace commission. At the same time, Laurens was coping with the grief of losing his eldest son, John Laurens, in battle, family conflicts over a proposed marriage between his elder daughter and a French fortune hunter, and his own poor health. This mixture of public and private concerns continued throughout his stay in Europe, as the commissioners attempted to negotiate a final peace treaty and a trade agreement with former allies and foes. In January 1785, Laurens returned to South Carolina, where he devoted the remainder of his life to personal affairs. Despite encouragement to return to public service, Laurens remained a private citizen with an active interest in the progress of his state, In his later years he recommended an end to the importation of slaves and diversification of the economy. Laurens died on December 8, 1792, at the age of sixty-eight.
- ISBN13 9781570034657
- Publish Date 1 March 2003
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 15 March 2021
- Publish Country US
- Imprint University of South Carolina Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 940
- Language English