Providence Island was founded in 1630 at the same time as Massachusetts Bay by English puritans who thought an island off the coast of Nicaragua was far more promising than the cold; rocky shores of New England. Although they expected theirs to become a model godly society; the settlement never succeeded in building the kind of united and orderly community that the New Englanders created. In fact; they began large-scale use of slaves; and plunged into the privateering that invited the colony's extinction by the Spanish in 1641.As a well-planned and well-financed failure; Providence Island offers historians a standard by which to judge other colonies. By examining the failure of Providence Island; the author illuminates the common characteristics in all the successful English settlements; the key institutions without which men and women would not emigrate and a colony's economy could not thrive. This study of Providence Island reveals the remarkable similarities in many basic institutions among the early colonial regions.
#1120792 in Books Cambridge University Press 1992-11-27Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.41 x .59 x 6.69l; .82 #File Name: 0521436923265 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. To The PointBy Barry SharpeI became a fan of Barbara J. Fields during a recent re-watching of Ken Burns' Civil War film he did for PBS. She is a terrific writer and stays on point. All essays are good but I had no issues or complaints with any of the inclusions.Consider; if you will; the overwhelming changes that took place following Juneteenth. If an African-American left his/her master; they were faced with having to put bread on the table. It wasn't all pretty. Very few slaves were trained for much beyond routine agricultural tasks. If ol' massa was broke; these ex-slaves had a ton of worry heaped upon them. So although freedom was sweet; along with it came new worries one really ought to consider from their perspective. This book book takes a step toward that goal.Read this book. You will have a different perspective whether you are black or white. I recommend it to everyone.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy MLJDynamic essays on the Emancipation.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. " Perhaps a better exploration of the longer volume would involve more strength ...By Tyler RSlaves No More was a culmination of writers including Ira Berlin; Barbara J. Fields and others as an attempt to convey the challenges; gains; and losses of emancipation during and after the Civil War. What promises to be an extensive search into these concepts leaves much to be desired. The book lacked focus leaning on several different theses; none of which were promised in the introduction. That which was promised is under represented and the book was far too redundant. Some forgiveness can be allotted given that this is a summarization of the much larger work by several authors; "Freedom: A Documentary History of Emancipation; 1861-1867." Perhaps a better exploration of the longer volume would involve more strength and success. To begin; the Introduction promises extensive examples of black voices and accounts during and after Emancipation efforts. The authors intrigue the reader with promises such as “Not only did extraordinary numbers of former slaves; many of them newly literate; put pen to paper in the early years of freedom; but hundreds of others; entirely illiterate; gave depositions to government officials…†(xii). The representation of these fantastic accounts is meager at best and only remotely present in the second essay. An example is the authors’ teasing comments such as “Southern slaves had their own conceptions of freedom; derived from their experience as slaves within the American republic.â€(86). Such a promise that was delivered only with the authors’ suggestion of what they felt; instead of as promised in the introduction; relevant witness examples. Additionally; the premise of the book; “essays on Emancipation;†was strongly delivered and yet a firm thesis was difficult to distinguish. Within the book; many arguments seem to be made in spite of or often in attempted congruity with other arguments. Collectively; there seemed to be four primary theses. The first; suggested the path that slaves made to align themselves with Union soldiers; the problems they faced and the existence of racism even within the Union. The second premise discussed the complexities surrounding enlisting black soldiers for both the Confederacy and the Union. The third suggested that the will and aim of the Union soldiers changed after the Emancipation Proclamation. Finally; the transition from slave to free was not a quick or immediate change and even in Southern states who had not been impacted directly by Union forces; slaves began being able to barter with their masters for their continued services. All of these are very well promoted so much so as to be repetitive. Each essay addressed these concepts but truly offered nothing new to the argument at the end of the book than had been offered at the beginning. This was a great disappointment considering other works by Berlin have been phenomenal. I do not recommend this as much more than a quick reference.
