About The Pacific as Crossroads, 1780-1820
Presented by Dr. Sean Munger, Historian
At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century, the
Pacific Ocean—anchored by the Pacific Northwest and California on one side,
China and Japan on the other, and Hawaii in the middle—was a bustling artery of
trade and cultural exchange. In this presentation we’ll examine the trade
relationships that linked the United States to the Far East, the environmental
factors that changed life in the Northwest, what the Russians were doing in
Oregon and California, why cows were such a disaster in Hawaii, and how a group
of missionaries ultimately crashed the party. You’ll understand why the
Northwest was not just another corner of America, but more like the center of
the world.
About the Speaker:
Dr. Sean Munger is a historian, attorney and consultant
specializing in the intersection of law and climate change. After practicing
law in the Portland, Oregon area for many years, he returned to school to study
environmental history, and later founded Centric Law, the consulting division
of the Rose Law Firm of Lake Oswego, Oregon. He represents clients in the
sustainability, renewable energy and climate change community. He also speaks
and teaches on subjects involving history, climate change and the law.
Sean is an internationally published historian, with a focus on
the history of climate and climate change. He writes and produces a historical
podcast, Second Decade, on the Recorded History Podcast Network, and
also teaches online history classes on a wide variety of subjects. While at the
University of Oregon, Sean developed and taught an innovative course on the
history of climate change. His work has been featured in academic and legal
journals in the United States and Europe. He is also a novelist, having
published in the horror and science fiction genres.
Sean holds a Ph.D. in environmental history from the University of
Oregon and a J.D. from Tulane Law School.
