The Caribbean in the Wider World, 1492-1992: A Regional Geography

Description

On the eve of the quincentenary of Christopher Columbus's epic voyage, this major new textbook survey explains how the region's present geography is intimately tied to the past. The Caribbean was Europe's first colony, its landscapes transformed to produce tropical staples and its decimated aboriginal populace replaced with African slaves. As European power has waned in the Caribbean, it has been replaced by the geopolitical domination of the United States. Professor Richardson examines this colonisation and recolonisation of the Caribbean during the past half millennium, portraying a region victimised by natural hazards, soil erosion, over population and gunboat diplomacy. Most importantly, he explains the ways in which Caribbean peoples have reacted and adapted to their external influences. No other single survey of the region provides equivalent breadth - ranging from aboriginal ecologies to today's narcotic traffic - or harnesses so effectively elements of the past to illuminate the present.

'A pleasure to read, Richardson's book is an important contibution to the geographical literature on the Caribbean, one which deserves to be read by all who have an interest in the region.' Caribbean Geography ' ... highly original synthesis and interpretation of regional history, regional social and economic trends, and, regional environmental issues. The book is stimulating, well-crafted and the author's style is lucid and refreshingly free from technical jargon and stodgy prose ... highly recommended.' Caribbean Review of Books