BOOK PRESENTATIONS HELD AT THE CROATIAN EMBASSY:
ADAMIC'S ERA 1780 - 1830 AND THE BRITISH NAVY, RIJEKA AND ADAMIC,
BY MALCOLM SCOTT HARDY
Croatian Embassy in London and the British-Croatian Society jointly organised a literary evening on Wednesday, 15th March 2006, to launch a couple of books dealing with the subject of British-Croatian links: "Adamic's Era 1780 - 1830" and "The British Navy, Rijeka and Adamic" by Malcolm Scott Hardy. Mr Ervin Dubrovic, spoke about the book "Adamic's Era 1780 - 1830": Rijeka's Merchant in a time of Great Changes" both as its editor and as the Director of the Museum of the City of Rijeka, the publisher of the book. He was followed by a British historian Malcom Scott Hardy, who spoke about his publication "The British Navy, Rijeka and A.L. Adamic: War and Trade in the Adriatic 1800 -25." Hardy's research gives the most thorough and reliable insight into relations between the Croatian regions and Great Britain during the "time of great changes" and Napoleonic wars. In addition to Croatian edition of the book, a special edition in English was presented as well: "The British Navy, Rijeka and A.L. Adamic: War and Trade in the Adriatic 1800 -25." published by Archaeopress in Oxford in 2005.
BOOK PRESENTATIONS HELD AT THE CROATIAN EMBASSY:
ADAMIC'S ERA 1780 - 1830 AND THE BRITISH NAVY, RIJEKA AND ADAMIC,
BY MALCOLM SCOTT HARDY
Croatian Embassy in London and the British-Croatian Society jointly organised a literary evening on 15th March 2006, to launch a couple of books dealing with the subject of British-Croatian links: "Adamic's Era 1780 - 1830" and "The British Navy, Rijeka and Adamic" by Malcolm Scott Hardy. Mr Ervin Dubrovic, spoke about the book "Adamic's Era 1780 - 1830": Rijeka's Merchant in a time of Great Changes" both as its editor and as the Director of the Museum of the City of Rijeka, the publisher of the book. He was followed by a British historian Malcom Scott Hardy, who spoke about his publication "The British Navy, Rijeka and A.L. Adamic: War and Trade in the Adriatic 1800 -25." Hardy's research gives the most thorough and reliable insight into relations between the Croatian regions and Great Britain during the "time of great changes" and Napoleonic wars. In addition to Croatian edition of the book, a special edition in English was presented as well: "The British Navy, Rijeka and A.L. Adamic: War and Trade in the Adriatic 1800 -25." published by Archaeopress in Oxford in 2005.
Adamic established and developed very successful business links with English merchants and entrepreneurs and as early as 1799 went to London for the first time and stayed there for several months. He went to London again in 1911 and was the most distinguished businessman from the Hapsburg Monarchy, dealing with the merchant traffic between the two countries. Adamic's company was the largest in Rijeka and he had branches in several European cities, including La Valetta, on the then British Malta, which was the central point for the British merchants in the Mediterranean.
This London presentation of the British-Croatian links, started by Adamic at the end of 18th and beginning of 19th century, gave an important contribution to the research of cultural and business relations as well an incentive to their further development. Among the guests in the audience were several British historians, curators and university lecturers. The contribution made by the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration in buying copies of the books is valuable as these will be sent to the libraries of those British institutions that helped the research on Adamic. Many European scholars and institutions took part in the Adamic project making their archives available for research, including the National Maritime Museum, the Museum in Docklands, the National Archive and the National Portrait Gallery.
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