History of the Caribbean: Plantations, Trade, and War in the Atlantic World

For those looking for short but efficient reads on the economic history of the Caribbean as it relates to the plantation complex that unites the region as a productive unit (in a subordinate space to the dominance of western Europe and North America), read Frank Moya Pons's History of the Caribbean: Plantations, Trade, and War in the Atlantic World. I was expecting more social history and mention of slave resistance and cultural creolization, but the title of the book makes it quite clear there will be an emphasis on economic history as it relates to the development of plantation colonies (or neocolonies) and conflicts over resources and profitability of tropical products. In addition, Pons ends his analysis of the economic purpose that connects all Caribbean societies in 1930, although one could easily argue that the modern Caribbean after 1930 is still serving the same role for North American and European powers. Furthermore, at times it felt the text was much more effective, informed and concerned regarding Hispaniola and the Spanish Antilles than elsewhere, although Pons does an excellent job integrating the Lesser Antilles and the various European powers into a single analysis.