A comprehensive overview of recent thinking, new data, syntheses, and insights into current Puerto Rican archaeologyAncient Borinquen is a re-examination of the archaeology of Puerto Rico, drawing data from beyond the boundaries of the island itself because in prehistoric times the waters between islands would not have been viewed as a boundary in the contemporary sense of the term. The last few decades have witnessed a growth of intense archaeological res...

As strange as this may sound , I hope you do not enjoy this book, I hope it disturbs you. I hope after reading you realize there is something wrong with Jamaica that needs to be fixed......I hope you will never look at a ghetto person the same again. I hope you will never see a young girl in a compromising position with an older man and not question what is going on. I hope you will never see a young man in jail and write him off as 'wutless' or bad.....Most importantly, I hope that you wi...

In 1830 Irving published his " Chronicles of the Conquest of Granada," one of the most delightful of his works, an exact history, for such it is admitted to be by thosewho have searched most carefully the ancient records of Spain, yet so full of personal incident, so diversified with surprising turns of fortune, and these wrought up with such picturesque effect, that, to use an expression of Pope, a young lady might read it by mistake for a romance.

The History of Mary Prince (1831) was the first narrative of a black woman to be published in Britain. It describes Prince's sufferings as a slave in Bermuda, Turks Island and Antigua, and her eventual arrival in London with her brutal owner Mr Wood in 1828. Prince escaped from him and sought assistance from the Anti-Slavery Society, where she dictated her remarkable story to Susanna Strickland (later Moodie). A moving and graphic document, The History drew attention to the continuation of...

Originally published in 1824, this firsthand account describes how, in June 1822, young English seaman Aaron Smith was taken captive by Cuban pirates when his ship was boarded en route from Jamaica to England. A skilled navigator, fluent in Spanish, and regarded as what was then acceptable as a ship’s surgeon, he was an attractive candidate for conscription.Forced to work as a navigator and participate in pirate boarding parties for ten months, he suffered mightily and witnessed un...

A fascinating persuasive history of how sugar has shaped the world, from European colonies to our modern dietsIn this eye-opening study, Sidney Mintz shows how Europeans and Americans transformed sugar from a rare foreign luxury to a commonplace necessity of modern life, and how it changed the history of capitalism and industry. He discusses the production and consumption of sugar, and reveals how closely interwoven are sugar's origins as a "slave" crop grown in Eu...

A brief account of the adventurers of a Philadelphia merchant sailing the piratical waters of the West Indies in the early 19th century.

A bite-size introduction to the life of Marcus Garvey, structured in two parts:  Part 1; chronicles the life of Marcus Garvey in a first person summary form.  Part 2; gives a broader view, based on what we now know, as a result of documents which have been made public by the US and British governments During his lifetime Marcus Garvey was given a number of titles; political leader, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, orator, agitator and even the Black Mose...

*Includes historic illustrations depicting Morgan and important events in his life.*Includes excerpts from an account of Morgan's piracy written by his ship's surgeon.*Analyzes Morgan's legacy and current efforts to find some of his sunken pirate ships.*Includes a Bibliography for further reading.*Includes a Table of Contents. The people who have lived outside the boundaries of normal societies and refused to play by the rules have long fascinated the world, and nowhere is this more evident t...

As with any enterprise involving violence and lots of money, running a plantation in early British America was a serious and brutal enterprise. In the contentious Planters, Merchants, and Slaves, Burnard argues that white men did not choose to develop and maintain the plantation system out of virulent racism or sadism, but rather out of economic logic because—to speak bluntly—it worked. These economically successful and ethically monstrous plantations required racial divisions to ...

After Haiti was struck by a devastating earthquake on January 12, 2010, aid workers and offers of support poured in from around the world. Tellingly, though, news reports on the catastrophe and relief efforts frequently included a pejorative description of the country that outsiders were determined to rebuild: the troubled island nation, a nation plagued by political violence. There was much talk of inventing a “new” Haiti, which would presumably mimic Western modes of development and thus...

New novel from BTBA finalist about a man obsessed with understanding the working-class via a love affair with a woman.