Jamaica and Saint-Domingue were especially brutal but conspicuously successful eighteenth-century slave societies and imperial colonies. These plantation regimes were; to adopt a metaphor of the era; complex "machines;" finely tuned over time by planters; merchants; and officials to become more efficient at exploiting their enslaved workers and serving their empires. Using a wide range of archival evidence; The Plantation Machine traces a critical half-century in the development of the social; economic; and political frameworks that made these societies possible. Trevor Burnard and John Garrigus find deep and unexpected similarities in these two prize colonies of empires that fought each other throughout the period. Jamaica and Saint-Domingue experienced; at nearly the same moment; a bitter feud between planters and governors; a violent conflict between masters and enslaved workers; a fateful tightening of racial laws; a steady expansion of the slave trade; and metropolitan criticism of planters' cruelty.The core of The Plantation Machine addresses the Seven Years' War and its aftermath. The events of that period; notably a slave poisoning scare in Saint-Domingue and a near-simultaneous slave revolt in Jamaica; cemented white dominance in both colonies. Burnard and Garrigus argue that local political concerns; not emerging racial ideologies; explain the rise of distinctive forms of racism in these two societies. The American Revolution provided another imperial crisis for the beneficiaries of the plantation machine; but by the 1780s whites in each place were prospering as never before—and blacks were suffering in new and disturbing ways. The result was that Jamaica and Saint-Domingue became vitally important parts of the late eighteenth-century American empires of Britain and France.
#382327 in Books Soderlund Jean R 2016-05-11Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .60 x 5.98l; #File Name: 0812223632264 pagesLenape Country Delaware Valley Society Before William Penn
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Lenape HistoryBy S. GearyWonderful book; and not just because my ancestors are in it. I learned a lot about the Lenape and the tri-state area (New Jersey; Pennsylvania and Delaware). This book is very well written and readable-not your usual dry history. I enjoyed it very much; and recommend it to history buffs and researchers/ancestors of our Native American tribes.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. During my first read I could not put the book ...By SaraDuring my first read I could not put the book down. A page turner. Now reading a second time - more slowly to flesh out the details. Had no idea the Native and European interaction was so intricate.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. great book!By CustomerVery informative! More history then I expected on my home area.
