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Fine sand, swaying palm trees, turquoise-blue lagoons, powder-puff clouds, and the gentle caress of the Trade Winds: the islands of the Caribbean are surely the last remaining paradise on earth. Wild mountains, impenetrable forests, shores that could still hide Robinson Crusoe; over the years tourism has left an increasing mark on the Greater and Lesser Antilles, but their distinctive charm and the appealing candour of their people remain intact.The attraction of these islands lies not only in their stunning natural beauty but in their unique history and culture. The brutal impact of European conquest on the lands of this 'New World' changed their indigenous face forever. The legacy of multiethnic settlement is evident in the Caribbean melting pot of today: every part of these islands is a piece of Europe transplanted in the tropics and subsequently infused with a strong dose of African traditions. As if by magic, these islands have succeeded in distilling the essence of Europe and mixing it with the exuberance of Africa and the voluptuous languor of the Tropics, and the effects of this intoxicating cocktail are seen in the impassioned, slightly run-down Spanish charm of Old Havana; evocative French chic in Martinique; the thoroughly Northern European taste of the pastel-painted houses of the Netherlands Antilles; and, the order and measured elegance of the former British colonies.

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The dawn of the twenty-first century is an opportune time for the people of the Caribbean to take stock of the entire experience of the past forty years since the ending of direct colonialism. The authors believe ""it is now time to chart our future by carefully learning the lessons of the recent past."" This interdisciplinary collection is the first to cross traditionally restrictive disciplinary barriers to address the tough questions that face the Caribbean today. What went wrong with the nationalist project? What, if any, are the realistic options for a more prosperous Caribbean? What are to be the roles of race, gender and class in a more global, less national world? Meeks and Lindahl include thought-provoking articles from twenty-one respected thinkers in diverse fields of study. The groundbreaking articles include critiques of existing bodies of thought, reformulations of general theoretical approaches, policy-oriented alternatives for future development, and more. This book is a must for statesmen, academics and students of political theory, social theory, Caribbean studies, comparative gender studies, post-colonial studies, Marxism and Caribbean history and anyone interested in the state of contemporary Caribbean thought.

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The Earliest Inhabitants"" aims to promote Jamaican Tainan archaeology and highlight the diverse research conducted on the island's prehistoric sites and artefacts. Of the fourteen papers in this volume, six are reprints of seminal articles that are not widely available and eight are based on recent archaeological research. The chapters are organized by thematic divisions that reflect the most important areas of research: Assessment and Excavations of Taino Sites looks at the various archaeological investigations across the island; Taino Exploitation of the Natural Resources examines how the Tainos took advantage of the natural environment to fulfil their needs; Analysis of Taino Archaeological Data highlights research conducted on various artefacts; and Taino Art Forms focuses specifically on evidence of Taino cave art and its impact on the interpretation of the Jamaican Taino livelihood. In her introduction, Lesley-Gail Atkinson explains, ""Jamaican prehistory is regarded as one of the least studied Caribbean disciplines. That is not necessarily the case; the fact is that published Jamaican archaeological research has not had sufficient international circulation. This has resulted in misconceptions about lack of scope, research activities and information on the Jamaican Tainos."" This volume seeks to redress this lack: invaluable in its own right as a collection of distinguished scholarship, ""The Earliest Inhabitants"" is remarkable, too, for being the first compilation on the Jamaican Tainos since 1897. This collection will appeal to a wide audience of archaeologists, historians, students of archaeology and anyone interested in Jamaica's history and archaeology.

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In this remarkable exploration of the brutal course of Barbadoss history, Hilary McD. Beckles details the systematic barbarism of the British colonial project. Trade in enslaved Africans was not new in the Americas in the seventeenth century  the Portuguese and Spanish had commercialized chattel slavery in Brazil and Cuba in the 1500s  but in Barbados, the practice of slavery reached its apotheosis.

Barbados was the birthplace of British slave society and the most ruthlessly colonized. The geography of Barbados was ideally suited to sugar plantations and there were enormous fortunes to be made for British royalty and ruling elites from sugar produced by an enslaved, disposable workforce, fortunes that secured Britains place as an imperial superpower. The inhumane legacy of plantation society has shaped modern Barbados and this history must be fully understood by the inheritors on both sides of the power dynamic before real change and reparatory justice can take place.

A prequel to Beckless equally compelling Britains Black Debt, The First Black Slave Society: Britains Barbarity Time in Barbados, 16361876 is essential reading for anyone interested in Atlantic history, slavery and the plantation system, and modern race relations.