From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean is about 30 million people scattered across an arc of islands -- Jamaica, Haiti, Barbados, Antigua, Martinique, Trinidad, among others-separated by the languages and cultures of their colonizers, but joined together, nevertheless, by a common heritage. For whether French, English, Dutch, Spanish, Danish, or-latterly-American, the nationality of their masters has made only a notional difference to the peoples of the Caribbean. The history of the Caribbean is dominated by the history of sugar, which is inseparable from the history of slavery; which was inseparable, until recently, from the systematic degradation of labor in the region. Here, for the first time, is a definitive work about a profoundly important but neglected and misrepresented area of the world.
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"Mr. Williams is forced to write about so much greed and cruelty that it is remarkable that he keeps his temper and his perspective. He succeeds, and his practical discussion of the current state of the Caribbean is among the best of its kind...He writes better than many historians and almost all politicians."
-- The New Yorker
-- The New Yorker
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From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean is about 30 million people scattered across an arc of islands -- Jamaica, Haiti, Barbados, Antigua, Martinique, Trinidad, among others-separated by the languages and cultures of their colonizers, but joined together, nevertheless, by a common heritage. For whether French, English, Dutch, Spanish, Danish, or-latterly-American, the nationality of their masters has made only a notional difference to the peoples of the Caribbean. The history of the Caribbean is dominated by the history of sugar, which is inseparable from the history of slavery; which was inseparable, until recently, from the systematic degradation of labor in the region. Here, for the first time, is a definitive work about a profoundly important but neglected and misrepresented area of the world.
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25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great story -difficult to read,
By
This review is from: From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean 1492-1969 (Paperback)
The story of how Europeans "discovered" the Caribbean, and how they governed it, is a fascinating tale of adventure, greed and cruelty. Unfortunately, this book tells it in an style that is pedantic and often uses archaic terms. Here is a typical sentence.
Whatever the cogitations of Parliament on these nuances of international trade in the eighteenth century, it laid it down decisively, according to an American merchant, in the omnicompetence lauded by Blackstone, "as a fundamental that the Islands were the only useful colonies we had and that the continent was rather a nuisance." (page 223) If has a lot of data, which you will enjoy if you want to know how many hogsheads, barrels and tierces of sugar were exported from a particular island in a particular year. At times the author provides page after page of this information, which is a bit dry for the non-economist. He also assumes that his reader knows European history in some detail. It is a tough read at times, but the fascinating story usually wins out over the style and the data. If you scan it and focus on the sections that document the human dramas, especially in regard to slavery, you will probably learn a lot and enjoy it. You many want to keep a dictionary and a historical reference book handy, however.
26 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truth and Closure.....A Must Read for Everyone!!!!!!!,
This review is from: From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean 1492-1969 (Paperback)
I can not put into words what this journal of the truth has done for me as a African-American Male living in the United States of America. I was introduced to this book by a man of Guyanese decent who knew I needed to read this book. I have to admit it was a difficult read because my primary education only spoke of American History and there was no mentioning of any African-Caribbean contributors from the "Middle Passage" period. Now, at thirty-nine many things are clearer to me. "Roots" and "Beloved" are historic, well-documented treasures and need to be used in educating all children no matter race, creed or color. To make sure what I read had some semblance of truth while in Puerto Rico I visited a sugar mill in Guanica and my heart just melted. If you read the book you will understand my feelings. I became angry because something as simple as not being forthwith with documented history such as this to young minds of American children lead to misunderstandings amongst the masses hailing from Africa, South America, The Caribbean, Asia, United States and Europe. Eric Williams I know I can not thank you in person because you are no longer here physically but your spirit lives on in your books and you will always be alive everytime one more person reads your book and awaken "Thank You"! For everyone else read the book it will cleanse your soul and feed your mind. Once you finish this read "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" by the same author.
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Factual Truth of the West Indies,
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This review is from: From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean 1492-1969 (Paperback)
This book is, by far, one of the best comprehensive books on the West Indies and its inception. Mr. Williams tactfully pinpoints the disturbing but interesting truths of popular tourist rally-points such as; Barbados, Jamaica, Costa Rica, and Grand Cayman just to name a few. The slave trade and it's economic value, the prominence of sugar cane, and the injustices and insurrections illicited by the former, are all mentioned without bias in this book. A great read!!!!
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The decisive landmark in the history of the fifteenth century, representing the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern era, was the Portuguese exploration and conquest of the West African coastline. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
international abolition, ameliorating measures, beet sugar industry, world sugar market, annual ship, slave revolution, sugar manufacture, white labour, foreign sugar, metropolitan country, sugar colonies, mainland colonies, tobacco regions, sugar cultivation, bounty system, muscovado sugar, central factories, sugar corporation, colonial produce, foreign slave trade, sugar economy Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
West Indies, United States, West Indian, Puerto Rico, British Guiana, British Government, New England, Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, Leeward Islands, Adam Smith, Great Britain, House of Commons, Commonwealth Caribbean, French Government, New York, Latin American, West Africa, North America, West India Interest, House of Lords, Royal African Company, Toussaint Louverture, United Kingdom, Jamaica Assembly New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The decisive landmark in the history of the fifteenth century, representing the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern era, was the Portuguese exploration and conquest of the West African coastline. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
international abolition, ameliorating measures, beet sugar industry, world sugar market, annual ship, slave revolution, sugar manufacture, white labour, foreign sugar, metropolitan country, sugar colonies, mainland colonies, tobacco regions, sugar cultivation, bounty system, muscovado sugar, central factories, sugar corporation, colonial produce, foreign slave trade, sugar economy Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
West Indies, United States, West Indian, Puerto Rico, British Guiana, British Government, New England, Puerto Rican, Dominican Republic, Leeward Islands, Adam Smith, Great Britain, House of Commons, Commonwealth Caribbean, French Government, New York, Latin American, West Africa, North America, West India Interest, House of Lords, Royal African Company, Toussaint Louverture, United Kingdom, Jamaica Assembly New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 29
books:
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84
books
cite this book:
See all 84 books citing this book
- Capitalism and Slavery by Eric Williams in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Cover
- Essay on the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species (Black Heritage Library Collection) by Thomas Clarkson on page 256, and Back Matter
- The Wealth of Nations: Representative Selections by Adam Smith on page 215, and Back Matter
- English Voyages to the Caribbean (Halkuyt Society Works Ser .: No 2, Vol 62) by Irene A. Wright in Back Matter
- Lord George Bentinck: A Political Biography (Library of Conservative Thought) by Benjamin Disraeli on page 316
See all 29 books this book cites
- Early Globalization and the Economic Development of the United States and Brazil: by John DeWitt on 5 pages
- Black Marxism: The Making of the Black Radical Tradition by Cedric J. Robinson in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- The Cultural Politics of Sugar: Caribbean Slavery and Narratives of Colonialism (Cultural Margins) by Keith A. Sandiford in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Subject and Object in Renaissance Culture (Cambridge Studies in Renaissance Literature and Culture) by Margreta de Grazia on page 232, page 257, and page 258
- Scanty Particulars: The Scandalous Life and Astonishing Secret of James Barry, Queen Victoria's Most Eminent Military Doctor by Rachel Holmes in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
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