About the Author: Sarah Crabtree is Professor of History at San Francisco State University, holds a PhD from the University of Minnesota, and studies the changing relationship between religion and nation in the Atlantic World during the ‘Age of Revolution and Reaction’ (roughly 1750 – 1830). She is the author of Holy Nation: The Transatlantic Quaker Ministry in an Age of Revolution, which argues that the Society of Friends challenged the ways in which the wars for independence and empire of this era reconfigured definitions of citizenship and subjecthood. Quakers resisted the demands for loyalty and sacrifice by the worldly governments under which they lived; in so doing, they represented a markedly different way of thinking about and being part of civil society. She has published about women’s experience on early sailing ships, arguing that the spatial orientation of these vessels was explicitly classed and gendered, and teaches courses on the American colonies, U.S. religious history, Atlantic World and maritime history. Melissa Philley is a graduate of the MFA in Comics program at California College of the Arts. She uses traditional and digital tools to create longform comics in a variety of styles and genres, and works under the pseudonym Sawhand.

About the Book: Accused of treason four times by three governments, William Rotch led a harrowing life. A Quaker merchant in the Age of Revolution, he refused to fight for either independence or empire. To governments and neighbors, his pacifism looked like treachery. As he fled from Nantucket to France to Britain and back again, Rotch suffered looting, inquisitions, and the threat of imprisonment and execution for his principled refusal to fight. Yet Rotch was also a beneficiary of these turbulent years. Drawing on fresh archival research, Sarah Crabtree reveals how Rotch turned revolutionary upheaval to his advantage. He used his whaling ships to dodge national borders, claim multiple residences, and play rival governments against one another, building a vast fortune even as he faced trials for his supposed disloyalties. Beginning with the Boston Tea Party—when his family’s ships carried the infamous cargo—Rotch’s story illuminates the contested ideals of freedom, capitalism, and conscience in the Revolutionary Atlantic world. Quaker, Whaler, Traitor, Spy! uses the comic form to tell this remarkable story from all angles, showing how different sources paint Rotch’s character in different lights. Through striking visuals and careful storytelling, this graphic history invites readers to question how history gets made and how we ought to reconcile seemingly contradictory accounts. Both engaging narrative and scholarly case study, this book is not only ideal for methods courses and classes in US history but also an accessible and compelling read for general audiences.

Want to read the book before the program? You can buy a copy here