Arthur Blackamore, master of the Grammar School of the College of William and Mary between 1707 and 1716, is known primarily for two books published in London in 1720 and 1723 and a poem written in America in 1716. Born in London, Blackamore matriculated at Christchurch College, Oxford, in May 1695. In 1707 he was sent as a schoolmaster to Virginia, where whatever benefits he gained from his contacts with William Byrd II and lieutenant-governor Alexander Spotswood were overshadowed by his increasingly troublesome alcoholism. To commemorate Spotswood's 1716 western expedition, designed to protect the colony from Iroquois raids by establishing compacts with friendly Indians, Blackamore composed "Expeditio Ultramontana," a poem later translated from the Latin by the Reverend George Seagood and printed in the Maryland Gazette for 17-24 June 1729.

Because of his problem with alcohol, Blackamore was removed from his position at the Grammar School, returning to London in 1717. There he maintained his contacts with Virginia...