![]() ![]() For Flinders, an equilibrium between head and heart ensured that amorous desire would not slide into disordered passion, power would not descend into 'barbaric tyranny' and sympathetic identification would not threaten the integrity of the masculine self. It was an ideal model of relationship that he expressed in exhortations to his family, patron and select friends as much as in his demands for release from the Isle de France where he was held political prisoner for over six years. Friendship for Flinders meant possessing a balance between, in his words, 'head and heart', or reason and emotion. I argue that friendship was a term capable of connecting enlightenment thought with subjectivity. This paper offers a close reading of Matthew Flinders’ diaries and letters (both sent and unsent) to examine the role of friendship in imperial enterprises. ![]()
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