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A Concise History of the Caribbean offers a comprehensive interpretation of the history of the Caribbean islands from the beginning of human settlement to the present. It narrates processes of early human migration, the disastrous consequences of European colonisation, the development of slavery and the slave trade, the extraordinary profits earned by the plantation economy, the great revolution in Haiti, movements towards political independence, the Cuban Revolution, and the diaspora of Caribbean people. In this second edition, Higman covers the political, social, and environmental developments of the last decade, offering sections on insular politics, Cuban communism, earthquakes, hurricanes, climate change, resource ecologies, epidemics, identity and reparations. Written in a lively and accessible style, and current with the most recent research, the book provides a compelling narrative of Caribbean history essential for students and visitors.
List of contents
1. A history of islands; 2. Ancient archipelago, 7200 BP-AD 1492; 3. Columbian cataclysm, 1492-1630; 4. Plantation peoples, 1630-1770; 5. Rebels and revolutionaries, 1770-1870; 6. Democrats and dictators, 1870-1940; 7.Decolonization and diasporas, 1940-2000; 8. A changing climate, 2000-2020.
About the author
B. W. Higman is Professor Emeritus at the Australian National University and Professor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies, where he studied and taught for thirty years. His numerous books include Slave Population and Economy in Jamaica 1807-1834 (1977), which was awarded the Bancroft Prize.
Report
'Anyone embarking on a history of the Caribbean is faced with a complexity of problems. What, for a start, do you mean by the Caribbean? And how do you provide a chronological and analytical narrative that embraces widely divergent geographies, nationalities, and peoples over, say, a millennium? If any single historian is qualified to tackle the topic, [B. W.] Higman is surely the best ... A Concise History of the Caribbean is a rare book - an important study for all students of the Caribbean, but with a resonance that goes well beyond the Caribbean itself.' James Walvin, New West Indian Guide
