Ever since Christopher Columbus stepped off the Santa Maria onto what is today San Salvador; in the Bahamas; and announced that he had arrived in the Orient; the Caribbean has been a stage for projected fantasies and competition between world powers. In Empire’s Crossroads; British American historian Carrie Gibson traces the story of this coveted area from the northern rim of South America up to Cuba; and from discovery through colonialism to today; offering a vivid; panoramic view of this complex region and its rich; important history.After that fateful landing in 1492; the British; French; Spanish; Portuguese; Dutch; Danish; and even the Swedes; Scots; and Germans sought their fortunes in the islands for the next two centuries. Some failed spectacularly: a poorly executed settlement in Panama led the Scots to lose their own independence to England. The Spaniards were the first to find prosperity; in Mexico but also along the islands. In Hispaniola; Cuba; and Puerto Rico; they built grandiose cathedrals and extracted shipfuls of gold and silver; which English; French; and Dutch pirates were happy to seize. But precious metals weren’t a sustainable export—the colonizers needed something that was; and they would need hordes of slaves to cultivate it.The Caribbean’s first cash crop; one indigenous to the New World; was tobacco; and it; along with sugar; spurred expensive new addictions back in Europe. Gibson argues that immaterial exports were just as important. No other region of the world has experienced such a vibrant mixing of cultures; religions; and peoples—Africans; Europeans; Asians; and Amerindians created amazingly dynamic Creole societies that complicated traditional ideas about class and race. By the end of the eighteenth century; seventy thousand free blacks and mulattos lived in the British islands alone; and it was in the Caribbean that the world’s only successful slave revolt took place—sparking the meteoric rise of Napoleon’s black counterpart; Toussaint L’Ouverture; and the Haitian Revolution.The Caribbean island of St. Eustatius had been the first to recognize the United States as a nation; but the Americans were soon vying for their own imperial stronghold in the West Indies; attempting to control Cuba and backing influential corporations; most notably United Fruit. In the twentieth century; most of the islands broke from the imperial traditions that had lorded over them for four centuries: this would be the explosive age of decolonization and “banana republics;†of racial riots and négritude; of Cold War politics and tourist crowds. At every step of her expansive story; Gibson wields fascinating detail to combat the myths that have romanticized this region as one of uniform white sand beaches where the palm trees always sway. Evocatively written and featuring a whole cast of cosmopolitan characters; Empire’s Crossroads reinterprets five centuries of history that have been underappreciated for far too long.
#1210301 in Books Johns Hopkins University Press 2008-05-19Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.50 x .59 x 5.50l; .59 #File Name: 0801888387224 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A very short; frustrating surveyBy David A. WeldThis is a frustrating book to read. It covers a lot of history in a few short pages. I just finished Chapter 3. Apparently; Cadillac has been appointed commandant of Michilimackinac. That was mentioned in passing while discussing the denouement of the conflict between the Iroquois and the Hurons. I see that the next couple chapters will cover another 30 or 40 years.The maps are there; but I can't say they're very good. For instance; the Ottawa River plays a big role in the conflict with the Iroquois. It would be nice to have a zoomed-in view of the Ottawa and its features mentioned in the text.The faults lie probably not so much with the author as with the publisher/editor. If you're going to do a survey of this time and place any justice; you need some heft in the text and graphics. The other possibility is to cut the time span covered by the text.Maybe I'll have to read Parkman to get the details...1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. French Enterprise in the Colonial Great Lakes because part of my husband’s family is French ...By Barbara RobertsonI decided to read The Upper Country: French Enterprise in the Colonial Great Lakes because part of my husband’s family is French Canadian. The earliest of his family group came to Canada from Rouen; France around 1650. I was curious to know what was going on west of the Appalachians before the French and Indian War when George Washington stepped into history. Having been educated in the U.S.; I had learned almost nothing about Canadian history but because I grew up in the Pacific Northwest; I was curious about fur trade and how it affected the east coast. Claiborne Skinner's book enlightened me on these topics and many others like the people of the First Nation and their use of agriculture; the struggles of the fur trading economy and other extractive pursuits; politics and the attitude toward colonial North America and other ideas that had never occurred to me. When I first reviewed the book I was pretty sure it would not be just a military history but there are many military skirmishes and battles detailed in the book which are to me tedious and confusing. Still; there are enough interesting; well written chapters about the people and how they lived to hold my interest.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy John RossiFRENCH DID WELL WITH NATIVES; SIPERIOR TO THE ENGLISH.
