Aaron Burr had remained abroad for four…

Aaron Burr had remained abroad for four years, lived in self-imposed exile from 1808 to 1812, passing most of this period in England, where he occupied a house on Craven Street in London.

He has become a good friend, even confidant, of the English Utilitarian philosopher, Jeremy Bentham, and on occasion has lived at Bentham's home.

He has also spent time in Scotland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, and France.

Living in his customary indebtedness but ever hopeful, he had solicited funding for renewing his plans for a conquest of Mexico, but had been rebuffed.

He had been ordered out of England and Napoleon Bonaparte had refused to receive him, although one of his ministers had held an interview concerning Burr's goals for Spanish Florida or the British possessions in the Caribbean.

With help from old friends Samuel Swartwout and Matthew L. Davis, Burr returns to New York and his law practice in 1812, using the surname "Edwards", his mother's maiden name, for a while to avoid creditors.