David Wright

Steven Palmer

Juanita De Barros

Health and medicine in colonial environments is one of the newest areas in the history of medicine, but one in which the Caribbean is conspicuously absent. Yet the complex and fascinating history of the Caribbean, borne of the ways European colonialism combined with slavery, indentureship, migrant labour and plantation agriculture, led to the emergence of new social and cultural forms which are especially evident the area of health and medicine. The history of medical care in the Caribbean is also a history of the transfer of cultural practices from Africa and Asia, the process of creolization in the African and Asian diasporas, the perseverance of indigenous and popular medicine, and the emergence of distinct forms of western medical professionalism, science, and practice. This collection, which covers the French, Hispanic, Dutch, and British Caribbean, explores the cultural and social domains of medical experience and considers the dynamics and tensions of power. The chapters emphasize contestations over forms of medicalization and the controls of public health and address the politics of professionalization, not simply as an expression of colonial power but also of the power of a local elite against colonial or neo-colonial control. They pay particular attention to the significance of race and gender, focusing on such topics as conflicts over medical professionalization, control of women’s bodies and childbirth, and competition between ‘European’ and ‘Indigenous’ healers and healing practices. Employing a broad range of subjects and methodological approaches, this collection constitutes the first edited volume on the history of health and medicine in the circum-Caribbean region and is therefore required reading for anyone interested in the history of colonial and post-colonial medicine.

Health and Medicine in the circum-Caribbean, 1800-1968

Audra Diptee

David Vincent Trotman

In this book, leading scholars pull together some of the most recent research on the key themes of Caribbean history: slavery, the transition to freedom, colonialism, and decolonization. Although all parts of the Caribbean experienced these phases, the manner in which they did so differed significantly, in part because of their distinct imperial histories. Contemporary fragmentation and insularity have led to significant variations in the region's historiography. The contributors examine the divergent historiographical and methodological developments in the British, French, Spanish, and Dutch Caribbean. By addressing these four linguistic areas of the Caribbean, they aim to overcome the traditional differences imposed by language and in the process to explore hotly debated subjects and new directions in Caribbean scholarship.

Perspectives on Caribbean History

Beyond Fragmentation

Reproducing the British Caribbean: Sex, Gender, and Population Politics after Slavery

Juanita De Barros

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