A Brief History of the Caribbean: From the Arawak and Carib to the Present [Paperback]

I made the mistake of ordering this book (under time pressure) for a class on Caribbean Civilization, based largely on a quick perusal of the index and an estimate of the reading level. It was a terrible mistake. From his early assertion that "a Christian monarch is not a tyrant . . ." (p.25) to his claim that "Given the sparcity of the evidence it is difficult to judge how well slaves were treated." (52) despite the enormous body of documentation of the horrific treatment of slaves in the Americas, this author reveals a truly apalling ultra right wing pro-US and at times almost racist bias. His apologia for Columbus, the initiator of the genocide of the Caribbean and a wholesale slave dealer himself (of natives sent to Europe) is deeply offensive. His characterization of Puerto Rico's plight is ignorant and insulting (he equates "commonwealth" the euphamism for the continued colonial occupation of the island with independence and self government!). Not to mention his implicit support throughout for neoliberal notions of "free trade" and the development model of the WTO. But perhaps most shocking is his hyperbolic, rabid and emotionally charged attack on Cuba -- he sounds like a spokesman for one of the Miami based anti-Castro terrorist organizations rather than a scholar or serious thinker. If you want to develop an understanding of the Caribbean DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK! Some better, more balanced choices would include: John Gilmore's "Faces of the Caribbean", Mark Kurlansky's "A Continent of Islands", or Eric Williams' "From Columbus to Castro"; for treatments of individual countries good places to start include Hugh Thomas' "Cuba", Maldonado-Denis' "Puerto Rico: A Socio-historical Interpretation", or Paul Farmer's "The Uses of Haiti."

This is a densely documented chronicle that will be of interest to the general reader for its explanation of how the distinct Caribbean island cultures developed from their popular discovery in 1492 to the present. More serious students of the subject will find a veritable library of reference material in the appendix of suggested readings. Visitors to the region will have a better understanding of the similarities and differences of these island communities based on the historical specifics of their political and social history. Today the importance of tourism, offshore banking, "assembly" factories, and indeed the drug trade are evident. But in the beginning it was a lust for gold that mesmerized Spanish explorers. The "Black Legend" that was Spanish settlement brought inhumanity and disease and wiped-out the idigenous peoples. The envy of the English, French, and Dutch helped launch the age of buccaneers who acted more and sometimes less on their behalf to steal Spanish plunder. With a greater European commitment sugar plantations took hold requiring the cheapest form of labor - slavery. Dutch business acumen in international trade, specifically in the crucial areas of lending, insurance, and marketing, enabled them to establish the infrastructure of an industry. The gradual abolition of slavery began in Great Britain, and here organized religion gets credit for bringing credible pressure on the government. Rogozinski's commentary on current issues in the Caribbean basin is just as helpful, as say, in the matter of Cuba. There is little to explain Fidel Castro's early, consistent, deep-rooted enmity towards the United States in these pages. What does seem clear is that U.S. foreign policy towards Cuba was inconsistent and stumbled dreadfully from the Bay of Pigs fiasco to total disorientation during the Jimmy Carter administration:

"The Carter administration approved of some marxist [sic] regimes in the 'Third World' countries and supported some groups claiming to be revolutionary. Andrew Young, U.S. ambassador to the U.N., praised Cuban intervention in Angola. George McGovern and Frank Church, influential Democrat senators, traveled to Cuba and extolled Castro's regime"

Rogozinski's history of the region suggests that Cuba's totalitarian regime is an aberration destined to change with Castro's eventual passing. Forceful, charistmatic leaders are common in Caribbean politics. But ideology, atheism, political repression, and a centrally controlled economy are not.