History of the Caribbean: A Captivating Guide to Caribbean History, Starting from Christopher Columbus through the Wars of Religion, Slavery, and ... Present (European Exploration and Settlement)

I am really into pirates and their history in the Caribbean. This was awesome in giving me the history of this area. Like many area of the world they too fought for freedom. Both the French and American fight for freedom had their effect on the Caribbean. Remember in this area slavery was big business. I was interesting in knowing that France outlawed it in 1794. The Napoleonic Wars even had it effect on the Caribbean as would America Civil War. It is amazing what this area endured. This book is a very good overview and an excellent resource.

While I had some background in mostly the tourist islands where we either stayed or visited on a cruise ship I learned about the politics of this diverse region and its tumultuous history. Before traveling there read this book as it will enrich your experience. I would have liked maps and pictures which is way it gets four stars.

The history of the Caribbean before Christopher Columbus is mostly unknown even though there were indigenous people there. Their stories from that time have been lost to time. When Christopher Columbus landed in the Caribbean, he thought that he had made it to the East Indies. When he realized his mistake, he quickly scrambled to prove that what he had found would be profitable and a benefit to the Spanish Empire. Soon the native population was enslaved and forced to work, many died from diseases brought by the Europeans that they had no immunity to. Sugar became one of the most profitable exports from the islands. As the sugar plantations grew so did the need for more slaves, soon slaves outnumbered the free on many of the islands. In Haiti, the slaves revolted, took over the island and chased the whites from the island. As the United States became aware of its need for national security, Cuba and its close proximity to Florida became problematic. Cuba was a politically unstable island. Cuba wanted independence from Spain but what role should the U.S. play in Cuba's fight. When a riot started in Havana the U.S. sent the U.S.S. Maine to Havana to protect the American's there. A month after the ship arrived it exploded and the U.S. declared war on Spain. The U.S. invaded the Spanish held islands in the Caribbean, including the Philippians, Guam, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. After a few months of war, the Spanish sued for peace. In the Treaty of Paris, Cuba was granted independence and the U.S. recongnized Puerto Rico as a Territory. Cuba and the U.S. would go on to have a long rocky relationship.

I have long been interested in the history of the Caribbean. So I was very happy with this book, and in conclusion I would say that as much as it is possible to summarize the history of 7000 islands in a short piece of writing, this book did it very well. We do not know much about the history of the islands until the arrival of Columbus. Here, however, I learned new things about the natives and how they blended in with the conquerors. I also gained an understanding of the territorial occupation maneuvers of the medieval European powers, and how the islands were exchanged between them, up to the present day. It was good to read about how some of these islands gradually became independent in modern times and what kind of struggles they had to go through. Unfortunately, this often resulted in the people being oppressed by self-elected dictators. For those who like to understand history from short books before deciding whether they want to delve deeper into it, this is a great book. I can only recommend it, as well as to tourists who want to learn about the history of the Caribbean before visiting it.

I love Captivating History books! They are always well-written and very interesting. They provide enough info but not too much that drags the book down. This book is no different.

The Caribbean has over seven thousand islands which comprise thirteen sovereign nations and more that are still subjects of parent (colonizing) countries. When Columbus ‘discovered’ the Caribbean for the European nations, the Islands were occupied by indigenous natives who were ethnically related to each other, but somewhat regionally divided. A lot of the pre-Columbian history is unknown, or yet to be discovered, because the tribes did not have a tradition of oral or written history keeping. Documented (post-Columbus) Island activities reflected the events that occurred within the European Community up through the 19th Century as the Islands followed their Colonizers’ politics and policies with the BIG exception of Slavery which was an over-riding source of controversy and early local experience. The Author provides details of how the American & French Revolutions and Napoleonic War affected the various Caribbean colonies/governments. Coverage of the post 19th century dictators who ruled nations in the area is provided, including the Castro's. There are so many countries within the Caribbean Sea that, unfortunately, not all are reviewed here with the same level of detail, Still, if you wish to learn about our (USA) Island neighbors to the East, this is a good place to start.

Of the over seven thousand islands of the West Indies, thirteen are sovereign nations with one island having changed hands thirty-three times prior to 1814. It shows that, once again, European countries desire for more territory to colonise and any riches these new lands held, led to devastation of the indigenous occupants via disease, slavery, and murder. It explains the impact of the many European countries wanting and taking the islands as their own. It goes on to describe the impact on the islands of warring nations in Europe as well as island revolutions, some for independence and their pivotal leaders. Piracy was rife in the West Indies. In the Golden Age of Piracy we see not the Hollywood depiction of swashbuckling, tricorn wearing men, but learn about the hard life, potential short life spans, the raiding, pillaging and terrifying conditions. It explains the beginning of piracy, the difference between being a privateer (state sanctioned piracy), and a pirate without such letters of marque. The tales of particular pirates, their history and encounters makes interesting reading.

The book is very easy to read and understand. There are many interesting facts and information. Not too long either

It doesn’t start well. On the very first page, the book incorrectly states that Antigua is still a “subject of the British Crown” (Antigua and Barbuda is in fact an independent state). Starting off with such an obvious error, I couldn’t help wonder if the rest of the book would be factually reliable. The writing is awful. Each sentence seems randomly placed with no connectors to help it flow which doesn’t make for smooth reading. The disjointed nature of the narrative is compounded by the way related events are often presented in non-chronological order which at best doesn’t help get a clear understanding of what took place and at worst is downright confusing. The content seems to lack explanation or context of some information. For example, with regards to French Caribbean islands, it jumps from mentioning the king to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and subsequent slave rebellion in Haiti with no mention of the backdrop of the French Revolution. Then in a later chapter under the subheading “The effects of the French Revolution on the Caribbean” it fails to mention Sainte Domingue / Haiti at all. The editing is also poor (or perhaps non existent?). A person named Estrella suddenly changed name to Estrada a couple of sentences apart on the same page. I was shocked to read about an event in 1795 being followed by the abolition of slavery in the Netherlands “nearly one thousand years later” in 1863! This is an error obvious to any reader, but how can the reader know if other dates and figures are accurate if something as obvious as this was not picked up by the editors? Maybe it’s because there were no editors and the book was written by AI?

This is one book that should have had a sequel. The history of this part of the world, is nothing short o phenomenal , considering the number of European countries they Had their claws in the many nations during that time in history, when the American continent was disband being developed. Well done….An excellent read……

Really interesting publication with so many issues to think about. A Web of compelling further reading ignited.

Very concise, well described and esucational and an easy read. I strongly recommend this book for whoever is interested in the history of such a nice place.

Good primer on a history of the Carribean which is a base to look at more detailed history and economic overview.