Everyday Life in the Early English Caribbean: Irish, Africans, and the Construction of Difference

Early American Places

by Jenny Shaw

Set along both the physical and social margins of the British Empire in the second half of the seventeenth century, Everyday Life in the Early English Caribbean explores the construction of difference through the everyday life of colonial subjects. Jenny Shaw examines how marginalized colonial subjects―Irish and Africans―contributed to these processes. Although their lives are obscured by sources constructed by elites, Shaw overcomes these constraints by pushing methodological boundaries to fill in the gaps, silences, and absences that dominate the historical record and uncovering perspectives that would otherwise remain obscured. Shaw makes clear that each group persisted in its own cultural practices; Irish and Africans also worked within―and challenged―the limits of the colonial regime. Shaw’s research demonstrates the extent to which hierarchies were in flux in the early modern Caribbean, allowing even an outcast servant to rise to the position of island planter, and underscores the fallacy that racial categories of black and white were the sole arbiters of difference in the early English Caribbean.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

280 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Thom DeLair]

As American Colonies by Alan Taylor compares Spain's early colonization of the Canary Islands as a testing group for future Atlantic colonization to England's early colonization of Ireland as testing grounds for their future colonization of the New World, Everyday Life in the Early English Caribbean begins by considering legal status in Ireland and how it was transferred to Caribbean colonies like Barbados and the Leeward Islands.



Initially, as many, the Irish were "servants" in the 17th century on colonies, falling in a status similar to Africans. But as the decades went on, Africans were more and more confined the status as chattels while the Irish had some rights, a few a mentioned even acquired land and slaves, becoming prominent stakeholders on the islands that were invested enough to not side with France following the Glorious Revolution. The aspect of Irish loyalty reminded me quite a lot of the political theories of North and Weingast in their article Constitutions and Commitment.

As Shaw acknowledges the lack of sources on the period, and parses out some of the finer details by asking a lot of hypothetical questions about motives and other unrecorded elements of island life, I did appreciate the detail on many overlooked aspects of Caribbean history that quickly move through the 17th century. Also, as so many books about the transatlantic slave trade have little to say about how specific groups of Africans' origin, the section on the fears of an uprising led by Akan slaves was particularly interesting.

Shaws favorite word seemed to be "connote".

[Pablo García · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buen libro que aborda la construccion de la diferencia en el Caribe Ingles de la Edad Moderna. Aborda diversos temas interesantes y la convivencia de los distintos grupos sociales. Me encanta que siga la metodologia de Natalie Zemon Davies del uso de la imaginación informada para darle voz a las voces desparecidas del archivo. Ademas las cortas figuraciones historicas de final de capitulo redondean bien toda la información tratada y son muy evocadoras; recordando la realidad no solo de las elites coloniales sino también del bloque marginal de la poblacion. No todo son testamentos, cartas, pleitos y censos sino lo que se esconde tras ellos. Pega: la dispersion de temas hace que se pierda a veces el hilo conductor. Un 9/10

[W M · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful look into the early transitional period of indentured servitude to the plantation based African slavery. Modeled on Barbados, the economic labor transition produced some very interesting syncretic cultural aspects on smaller islands like St. Kitts and Montserrat.

[Grace Julianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

well written, narrative account of the juxtaposition of Irish servants and African slaves. Parts were written in a diary like style, which is great for those who are aren't big history buffs. Engaging; a must read for those traveling to the Caribbean islands. You'll never look at geography the same after reading Shaw's perspective.

[Mike Emett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Required reading for a graduate seminar, Comparative Slavery.