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Rating: 
Summary: "Calamities and Crimes"-Captain Southey's History...1827
Review: Epigram from Vince Hubbard's Foreword by Captain Southey:"The history of the West Indies presents little more than a melancholy series of calamities and crimes." Chronological History of the West Indies, Vol. III. I was hoping to meet Mr. Hubbard during my last trip to Nevis in 2004; stayed at an inn where he visits from time to time. He was off island the entire time of my stay, probably unearthing more gems of information, so I was out of luck in that arena. However, the office of the inn, which 200 years ago concerned itself with administrative/accounting tasks related to sugar cane sales/production, contained this book which was published during the intervening years of my first trip to Nevis in 2001. Also, I realized that my edition of Swords, Ships, and Sugar has been revised to contain two more chapters covering events on Nevis during the last century. I've been told by the innkeeper that Mr. Hubbard is "a walking encyclopedia"! I'm most interested in events in the Caribbean pre-1776; I'm told there is a lot of geneaological information on the web now. Anyway, I enjoyed this book as much as Hubbard's History of Nevis. Found myself laughing out loud on the airplane reading about some unruly pirates who wooed and wed some 'timid orphans' from Paris whose previous occupation was prostitution. The scheme was masterminded by the French hoping that the troublesome pirates would settle down. In Hubbard's retelling he includes the marriage oaths of the celebrants: "I take thee without knowing or caring to know, whom thou art.....I do not desire thee to give me an account of thy past conduct.....I acquit thee of what is past [then striking his hand on the barrel of his pistol] This will revenge me of thy breach of faith...]!!! Colorful history-telling as always from Vince Hubbard. I'm still reading Michener's Caribbean which is equally good. Michener's novel, of course, is grander in scale and colorful in the sense the Caribbean inherently generates given the very diverse languages, geologies, ecologies, cultures etc. that are displayed in that region of the globe. What I enjoyed most from his book, surprisingly, were the final chapters on the twentieth century making me ponder at the curious evolution of government on these islands. Independence was procured from Great Britain in 1983 which seems to me, if I may use the term, reverse colonialism in that self-government was ordained yet membership in the British Commonwealth continued. It's interesting to see the failures of the federations as well as the tenuous one remaining between St. Kitts and Nevis today. Will the individual islands be like colonial states, will they or won't they have some form of federal government governing them all? Is that at all possible, given the geographical separation of them by miles upon miles of sometimes hurricane tossed waters? Could their economic situation improve as a result? Could the American Revolutionary experiment of 300 plus years ago be a paradigm/godsend for them. Or am I dreaming an impossible dream? Piracy of a different sort abounds in those straits today: drug smuggling/money laundering. The Caribbean islands being the intermediary focal point of this modern, slaveless triangle trade between South America (substituting for Africa as the third link) and North America. The natives of St Kitts and Nevis are the sweetest people I've ever met. Their lives are very simple. They are disingenuous but can also be quite clever at times. Distancewise, these isles are the same distance from Florida as D.C., but in so many ways, I feel always like I'm living in an entirely different world. Is it paradise, perhaps???
Rating:
Summary: What an Interesting Read
Review: Well I must say that this book first interested me on my honeymoon to St. Kitts last year. The people of both St. Kitts and of Nevis were so kind and accomodating. Being there led me to want to know more about the island nation of St. Kitts-Nevis. I was fortunate that my new wife purchased this book for me while visiting Alexander Hamilton's birthplace on Nevis. This book was great for giving me an understanding of the life and history of St. Kitts. I am only sorry that we did not also get the book Mr. Hubbard wrote on Nevis. The book consists of 182 pages and also contains a number of pictures and illustrations of the island. Mr. Hubbard has the ability to breathe life into the history and people of this sugar producing island (which he does magnificently). By chapter, this book covers the:
1) Natural History
2) Indians
3) European Settlement
4) The Spanish Attack
5) The Coming of "King Sugar"
6) The Birth of the French Caribbean Empire
7) The Birth of the British Caribbean Empire
8) Imperial Conflicts
9) Pirates and Privateers
10) The Eighteenth Century - The Best of Times and the Worst of Times
11) The Nineteenth Century - the Decline Sets In
12) The Twentieth Century Mr. Hubbard has a talent for writing that goes beyond the usual historic writer. He keeps you moving along on this rollercoaster of island life. Before reading this book, I would have never guessed the huge importance of these two small islands in the Caribbean. I most heartily recommend this book to the reader interested in the politics and history of the Caribbean region. Enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: What an Interesting Read
Review: Well I must say that this book first interested me on my honeymoon to St. Kitts last year. The people of both St. Kitts and of Nevis were so kind and accomodating. Being there led me to want to know more about the island nation of St. Kitts-Nevis. I was fortunate that my new wife purchased this book for me while visiting Alexander Hamilton's birthplace on Nevis. This book was great for giving me an understanding of the life and history of St. Kitts. I am only sorry that we did not also get the book Mr. Hubbard wrote on Nevis. The book consists of 182 pages and also contains a number of pictures and illustrations of the island. Mr. Hubbard has the ability to breathe life into the history and people of this sugar producing island (which he does magnificently). By chapter, this book covers the:
1) Natural History
2) Indians
3) European Settlement
4) The Spanish Attack
5) The Coming of "King Sugar"
6) The Birth of the French Caribbean Empire
7) The Birth of the British Caribbean Empire
8) Imperial Conflicts
9) Pirates and Privateers
10) The Eighteenth Century - The Best of Times and the Worst of Times
11) The Nineteenth Century - the Decline Sets In
12) The Twentieth Century Mr. Hubbard has a talent for writing that goes beyond the usual historic writer. He keeps you moving along on this rollercoaster of island life. Before reading this book, I would have never guessed the huge importance of these two small islands in the Caribbean. I most heartily recommend this book to the reader interested in the politics and history of the Caribbean region. Enjoy.
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