General History of the Caribbean Volume IV: The Long Nineteenth Century: Nineteenth Century Transformations

UNESCO's lengthy, multi-volume General History of the Caribbean series is more than useful for those studying Caribbean history. Combining the best scholarship from historians from the region and the North, the fourth volume adequately covers every significant development in the 19th century Caribbean. Slavery, emancipation, the Haitian Revolution, nationalism, Antillean federationism, the rising influence of the US, indentured labour, and economic changes are covered in this important volume. Given my own personal interests in Haiti, I decided to start reading the series with this volume, and Haiti is certainly included with an entire chapter on the Haitian Revolution from a top scholar (David Geggus). Michel Hector, Jean Casimir, and others also contribute in later chapters on Haitian social structure, economic turmoil, and US economic and political influence. 

Unfortunately, there were a few chapters that may have been better off with additional editing, such as one erroneous assertion that caco resistance to US Occupation in Haiti had over 4 million supporters! That would have been more than the entire population of Haiti at the time, so I assume the author of that chapter made a typo that was not corrected. There also could have been more coverage of religious diversity and Afro-Creole traditions, as well as a superior chapter on Caribbean intellectual history when pertaining to Haiti.

Nonetheless, everything else about the text was an excellent introduction to the important historical developments. As someone who, again, is mostly interested in Haiti, understanding the demographic impact of Portuguese, African, and indentured labor in that era is all relatively new material. Moreover, Central America and Belize are included, areas of the circum-Caribbean world I am woefully ignorant of in the annals of Caribbean history. In addition, the text also includes numerous excellent historical photographs and tables, as well as a valuable bibliography for additional sources. 

The Caribbean Spirits (CaribNation)

Watch CaribNation's interview with Ian Williams on the importance of Caribbean rum. Williams wrote a social history of Caribbean rum and its importance in the US War of Independence.

From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean 1492-1969

From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean 1492-1969 by Eric Williams may be one of the most comprehensive general histories of the Caribbean ensconced in the school of cliometrics. Although I have yet to read Capitalism and Slavery, the magnum opus of the author, From Columbus to Castro is similarly focused on economic history, data illustrated in various tables, and figures. Combining an economic perspective with one of social and political history, Williams successfully weaves together the story of the Caribbean region from 1492 to 1969 in 500 pages without losing sight of the common themes, histories, and experiences that unite the Caribbean. Spanish conquest, piracy, colonialism, slavery, emancipation, the Haitian Revolution, the 'sugar revolution,' conflict beetween European powers, US imperialism, the road to independence in the British Caribbean, and the Cuban Revolution all receive adequate mention and analysis in a way that tends to emphasize the agency of subaltern actors and the social relations in the broader context of European colonialism. Williams goes to great lengths to demonstrate the importance of trade, contraband, mercantilism, and free trade as shifts in relations within the region and a product of and contributor to the growth of capitalism. I won't go into the intense scholarly debate on Eric Williams's approach to the question of British emancipation, but surely Williams deserves broader recognition for initiating the scholarly discussion on the links between capitalism and slavery.