Published in 1838 by the American Anti-Slavery Society; who had commissioned their investigative tour; Thome and Kimball's Emancipation in the West Indies immediately became an influential abolitionist text. Many anti-abolitionists in America were prophesying major upheaval should slavery be outlawed. Slavery had been officially abolished in the British West Indies in 1827; and the object of the tour was to assess the results there. The islands visited had followed different models ranging from total abolition to a gradual change through apprenticeship until 1838; and the results had proved those who feared abolition wrong. There had been no insurrection or increase in crime; participation in education and religion among former slaves had generally increased; and only the former slave-owners were unhappy about the economic consequences for their estates. The book contains documentary evidence from residents and officials of the islands; describing the effects of emancipation.
#643603 in Books Cambridge University Press 2011-04-18 2011-06-23Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.98 x .59 x 5.98l; .85 #File Name: 1107400406272 pages
Review
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Religion and modernization in East AsiaBy Wayne LusvardiThis is an outstanding book that focuses on religion as the skeleton key to unlocking the history of East Asia.There are authors who know their stuff but write such long-winded tomes that you lose interest. This is not one of those books. It is short and you will find it hard to put the book down with its many interesting stories; witty and humorous notes in brackets; and comparisons with U.S. religious movements such as the apocalyptic Millerism movement in the 1800's.This is not a deterministic or reductionistic approach to history. DuBois writes that "religion is not just ideas: it is ideas in action." Religion is not a symptom or vehicle of economics or other historical processes. To DuBois religion both shapes and is shaped by history. Religion can't be understood by a study of "comparative religions" and religious ideas but only in lived history.To help us understand Buddhism; Daoism; and Confucianism mainly in China and Japan DuBois often uses Western religious stories or ideas. Did you know U.S. Marines once occupied the City of Beijing; China? Do you know who the "Boxers" are? No they aren't related to a famous U.S. Senator from California with the name Boxer. They weren't boxers and although the movement they led was called the "Boxer Rebellion" they did not lead a rebellion against the rulers of China.The underlying theme of the book is modernization and how East Asia responded to it. Japan closed itself off from Western contact for 200 years to resist modernization. China's pathway to modernization was shaped by a ruler named Kang Youwei whose utopianism was the forerunner of Mao's Communism. Communism was actually a countermovement to modernization but modernized its military to bring about reforms with disastrous results.Although DuBois doesn't say this; what this reader learned from the book is that Capitalism is the only historical example of modernization that hasn't destroyed indigenous cultures and religion in the process (South Korea; Japan). No Socialist example exists outside utopian ideas. There are many examples in the book of wars and civil wars where the winner forced the losers to abandon their culture and religion and accept another religion and dominant culture.The story of Catholic priest and scholar Matteo Ricci's infiltration into the Chinese Mandarin class is fascinating. How Ricci used ancient Chinese Ru literature to marry Confucianism and Christianity is seriously humorous. Did Confucius write the Analects of Confucius? Or were the Chinese Confucians "confused" by Ricci?At the back of the book is a glossary and a timeline of major events that are customarily found in such history books. But you will find the glossary and timeline in this book most helpful and not just filler.I would be intrigued if DuBois took on a project of writing about the role of religion in the Vietnam War. Was Buddhist delegitimation of South Vietnamese rule a turning point in the war no matter what happened in the U.S. with its anti-war movement? Were Buddhist priests Communist infiltrators or not? Why were many South Vietnamese leaders Catholic? Why were North Vietnam and rural farmers Communist? Did the U.S. lose the war because it lost the religious/ideological war long before it lost the war at home? What was the role of Nationalism in resisting modernization? And what role did American religions play in delegitimating the war? I know of no historian other than DuBois who might be up to such a task.Buy the book; read it. I don't think there is anything like it.2 of 10 people found the following review helpful. Mistitled bookBy T. LeeThis is a mistitled book. "East Asia" in the title should be replaced by "China and Japan." It leaves out Korea in its treatment. What the book has done is similar to leaving out; say; France in a book titled "Religion and the Making of Modern Europe."
