John Deane of Nottingham: Historic Adventures by Land and Sea

This is the story of John Deane of Nottingham, a person who, according to the author, really existed. John Deane is born in 1679 to wealthy parents, but starts out in relative poverty, working as a drover around London. He then goes to sea and rises to the rank of Captain of the Navy, but abandons that position to become "Merchant Adventurer". Next he spends some years in Russia, serving Peter the Great on a Russian war ship. When he had enough of that, he became British Consul, and finally spen