The most consequential Caribbean historian of her
generation, Bridget Brereton has produced a string of innovative and
path-breaking studies that have had a profound influence on the ways we have
come to understand many of the major events in the area's history. This Work
tips its hat to her contributions, as well as suggests ways to expand on the
research agenda she has set.
Taking its cue from Brereton, the essays are generally
reader friendly in their exploration of the economic, social, political and cultural history of the area. Brereton's work is always
"balanced." So too are the contributions to this anthology. Complex
societies, Brereton insists, demand complex histories. These essays do exactly
that. Like her work, this collection also breaks through old historiographical
boundaries. To its credit, the geographical and thematic coverage is
comprehensive although, not surprisingly, Trinidad and Tobago attracts a
plurality of interest.
Its range and mix make this work one of a kind. There are
other anthologies that cover aspects of the area's history, but nothing as
comprehensive in its historical and thematic reach. It brings to mind Gordon
Lewis’s, The Growth of the Modern West
Indies (1968) which for years was basic fare of graduate seminars. Lewis
identified what he called Caribbean "characteristics." It was a house
divided against itself in which parochial governing elites butted heads against
outside liberal influences before and after emancipation, a place where status
was symbolized by skin colour and an area, which with the collapse of King
Sugar and emancipation, became a back water until World War II. This work
expands on many of the same themes reaching beyond Lewis to cover all language
areas.
Heather Cateau is a senior lecturer in
Caribbean History at The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus.
She has held the positions of Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Education,
Head of the Department of History and University Dean.
Rita Pemberton is a former senior lecturer, Head of the Department of History and Deputy Dean, Student Affairs in
the Faculty of Humanities and Education at The University of the West Indies,
St Augustine Campus.
Ronald Noel lectures
in the Department of History at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus. He came into academia after a career in industry which
spanned three decades.
