A significant contribution to the history of the Caribbean and to the comparative study of slavery and transitions to free labor systems.--O. Nigel Bolland; Colgate University"An extended and comprehensive history of the Bahamas. . . . Shifts the focus of interest from the islands’ elites to the common people . . . with special reference to the black population which has hitherto been largely ignored in historical writing."--Richard B. Sheridan; University of Kansas; LawrenceIn the only scholarly treatment of Bahamian socioeconomic history in the post-emancipation years; Howard Johnson begins by examining the last phase of slavery as one element in the foundation of later; and often more exploitative; labor systems. Looking at both urban and rural slave populations; Johnson discusses the systems of slave hire; apprenticeship; and indenture and highlights the ways in which the people of the Bahamas often exerted more autonomy and power as slaves than as a "free" people.Following emancipation in 1838; an export economy based on cotton; salt; sponges; and pineapples spawned coercive credit and truck systems; which bolstered the dominance of a white mercantile elite that would exercise control until the early 1960s. Various government policies further perpetuated a "machinery of class slavery;" making migration (primarily to Key West and; later; to Miami) one of the few escape routes available to the lower classes.Throughout; Johnson relates historical developments in the Bahamas to those in neighboring Caribbean islands; Latin America; and the United States; making this an important sourcebook for all Caribbeanists. It will also be of interest to scholars of the historiography of slavery in the Americas and the transition from slavery to freedom or--in a post-emancipation system of domination like that of the Bahamas--from slavery to servitude.Howard Johnson is associate professor in the Department of Black American Studies and History at the University of Delaware; editor of After the Crossing: Immigrants and Minorities in Caribbean Creole Society (1988); and author of The Bahamas in Slavery and Freedom (1991).
#44097 in Books Crowley; Roger 2009-05-12 2009-05-12Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 7.98 x .79 x 5.16l; .60 #File Name: 0812977645368 pagesRandom House Trade
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Middle Earth StruggleBy Christian PotholmRoger Crowley; Empires of the Sea: How Venice Ruled the Seas (New York: Random House; 2012). A marvelous – and cautionary tale – of how Venice founded; maintained and eventually began to lose its Stato da Mar; the commercial and military empire which included Zara; Scutari; Corfu; Crete; Negroponte; Salonika and Kaffir; stretching along the Adriatic; the Mediterranean; the Black Sea on to trading with Mamluks in Palestine and Egypt. Through wars with Genoa; trade with the Mongols and the relentless pressures of the Ottoman Turks; Venice held its own for centuries. Crowley has written a marvelous work showing the need for; and the penalties for failing to protect the capital from people. Everything the city bought; or sold; came by sea during the three periods under review: 1000-1204 “The Merchant Crusaders;†1204-1500 “The Princes of the Sea†and then 1400-1503 “The Rising Moon†of the Ottoman Turks. And the sea required; at all times; the projection of force to protect commercial interests.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. A Gripping Naval Political Struggle of the Sixteenth CenturyBy Alan E. NegrinA description of the century-long naval struggle for control of the Mediterranean between the Ottoman Turks and the West; focusing on 4 major areas; the sieges of Rhodes; Cyprus; and Malta; and the great battle of Lepanto. Many other reviewers criticized this work as providing incomplete descriptions of some very complex military conflicts; but for me the depth of this work was exactly right. Although I have read a great deal of military and naval history; I am not one for recreating the movement of every ship or every battalion. I suppose you could write a whole book; for example; on the siege of Malta; but that's not what the author intends. His idea is to lay out the motivations of the Turks and the struggles of the West--primarily the papacy; the Venetians; Philip II of Spain; and the Knights of Malta to try to bury their many differences to confront the seemingly inevitable thrust of the Ottoman empire.Crowley's narrative sweeps the reader along; describing not only the conflicts but the people behind them and their motivations. The savagery of the fighting is examined in detail; a level of violence and barbarity (on both sides) that will shock modern readers. It's one of the most gripping and comprehensive descriptions of a century-long conflict that I have read.I would award this book only 4 stars; however. The maps (in the Kindle version; anyway) were unreadable; split between pages and undecipherable when expanded. Although the author doesn't seek to delve into enormous detail in terms of military hardware; I found it difficult to understand how galleys functioned and how they were used in battle. The fleets involved also consisted of galleases; galliots; and many other craft which were not explained. I had to study my faithful Wikipedia to gain some insight as to the strengths; weaknesses and uses of all these craft. The author would have been better advised to concentrate some effort here; as it's really not possible to understand naval strategy without some idea of the limitations that were imposed on battle plans by the technology of the era.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Essential ReadingBy ImageMDThis book is essential reading for anyone trying to understand late 16c European history; the Siege of Malta in 1565 and the naval Battle of Lepanto in 1571. The narration is engaging and captures the personalities and geopolitics as well as the brutality and suffering of the times. The author occasionally uses unfamiliar English words like ‘mizzle' (a mix of drizzle and fog) and ‘debouch’ (a march out of a confined space); so I recommend the Kindle edition which allows for easy lookup of word definitions.
