Offering a rare pan-Caribbean perspective on a region that has moved from the very center of the western world to its periphery, The Caribbean journeys through five centuries of economic and social development, emphasizing such topics as the slave-run plantation economy, the changes in political control over the centuries, the impact of the United States, and the effects of Castro's Cuban revolution on the area. The newly revised Second Edition clarifies the notions of "settler" and "exploitation" societies, makes more explicit the characteristics of state formation and the concept of fragmented nationalism, incorporates the results of recent scholarship, expands treatment of the modern period, updates the chronology of events, and adds a number of new tables. Integrating social analysis with political narrative, The Caribbean provides a unique perspective on the problems of nation-building in an area of dense populations, scarce resources, and an explosive political climate.
Offering a rare pan-Caribbean perspective on a region that has moved from the very center of the western world to its periphery, The Caribbean journeys through five centuries of economic and social development, emphasizing such topics as the slave-run plantation economy, the changes in political control over the centuries, the impact of the United States, and the effects of Castro's Cuban revolution on the area. The newly revised Second Edition clarifies the notions of "settler" and "exploitation" societies, makes more explicit the characteristics of state formation and the concept of fragmented nationalism, incorporates the results of recent scholarship, expands treatment of the modern period, updates the chronology of events, and adds a number of new tables. Integrating social analysis with political narrative, The Caribbean provides a unique perspective on the problems of nation-building in an area of dense populations, scarce resources, and an explosive political climate.
Professor Knight addresses race, ethnicity, and class in Latin America and the Caribbean, and his conclusions are important for revaluing the history and place of these regions in the evolution of political systems.
In Where Cultures Meet, editors Weber and Rausch have collected twenty essays that explore how the frontier experience has helped create Latin American national identities and institutions. Using 'frontier' to mean more than 'border, ' Weber and Rausch regard frontiers as the geographic zones of interaction between distinct cultures. Each essay in the volume illuminates the recipro-cal influences of the 'pioneer' culture and the 'frontier' culture, as they contend with each other and their physical environment. The transformative power of frontiers gives them special interest for historians and anthropologists. Delving into the frontier experience below the Rio Grande, Where Cultures Meet is an important collection for anyone seeking to understand fully Latin American history and culture
An “illuminating” survey of Caribbean history from pre-Columbian times to the twenty-first century (Los Angeles Times). Combining fertile soils, vital trade routes, and a coveted strategic location, the islands and surrounding continental lowlands of the Caribbean were one of Europe’s earliest and most desirable colonial frontiers. The region was colonized over the course of five centuries by a revolving cast of Spanish, Dutch, French, and English forces, who imported first African slaves and later Asian indentured laborers to help realize the economic promise of sugar, coffee, and tobacco. The Caribbean: A History of the Region and Its Peoples offers an authoritative one-volume survey of this complex and fascinating region. This groundbreaking work traces the Caribbean from its pre-Columbian state through European contact and colonialism to the rise of U.S. hegemony and the economic turbulence of the twenty-first century. The volume begins with a discussion of the region’s diverse geography and challenging ecology and features an in-depth look at the transatlantic slave trade, including slave culture, resistance, and ultimately emancipation. Later sections treat Caribbean nationalist movements for independence and struggles with dictatorship and socialism, along with intractable problems of poverty, economic stagnation, and migrancy. Written by a distinguished group of contributors, The Caribbean is an accessible yet thorough introduction to the region’s tumultuous heritage which offers enough nuance to interest scholars across disciplines. In its breadth of coverage and depth of detail, it will be the definitive guide to the region for years to come. Praise for The Caribbean “The editors of this volume have successfully assembled a survey of historical and contemporary issues which serves as an excellent introductory text for newcomers to the region, as well as a resource for more experienced researchers searching for a concise reference to any historical period.” —Journal of Caribbean History “This collection provides an engaging introduction to the history of a region defined by centuries of colonial domination and popular struggle. In these essays readers will recognize the Caribbean as a garden of social catastrophe and a grim incubator of modern global capitalism, as well as of people’s continuous attempts to resist, endure, or adapt to it. Scholars and students will find it to be a very useful handbook for current thinking on a vital topic.” —Vincent Brown, professor of history and of African and African American studies, Duke University
Volume 3 looks at various aspects of slave societies in the region from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Throughout the tortuous history of the Caribbean, nothing exceeded in fundamental importance the twin experiences of slavery and the plantation system, the defining episodes of Caribbean social reality. Topics addressed include: European 'settler colonies,' the sugar revolutions, forms of resistance, the influence of creolization and religious beliefs, and the place of the Maroon communities. Knight also examines the internal and external forces that led to the eventual collapse of the Caribbean slave system.
This volume (the first one published) begins with an overview of the slave trade. African slavers and the demography of the Caribbean up to 1750. Scholars go on to study the demographic and social structure of the Caribbean slave societies in the 18 and 19 centuries, their evolution and significance, the social and political control in the slave society and forms of resistance and religious beliefs, as well as Maroon communities in the circum-Caribbean. The phenomenon of pluralism and creolization is analysed. The volume closes with a study of the distintegration of the Caribbean slave systems.
This volume looks at the ways historians have written the history of the region, depending upon their methods of interpretation and differing styles of communicating their findings. The chapters discussing methodology are followed by studies of particular themes of historiography. The second half of the volume describes the writing of history in the individual territories, taking into account changes in society, economy and political structure. The final section is a full and detailed bibliography serving not only as a guide to the volume but also as an invaluable reference for the General History of the Caribbcan as a whole.
The Caribbean Basin: An International History provides a study of the entire Caribbean region, including Central America and the Caribbean coast of northern South America. It also offers analysis of: * the role of international intervention * the complex interaction among major world powers in the area * conflicts over colonial possessions and trade routes * Soviet-American confrontation in the Cold War years. Integrating the recent political, social and economic history of the Caribbean with its miltary and diplomatic past, this book charts the region's emergence from colonialism during the course of the twentieth century.
