A True and Exact History of the Island of Barbados

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As the one major, book-length English chronicle and natural history of the Caribbean published in the seventeenth century, written at the time of experimental adoption of the sugar / African slavery complex that would come to characterize the Caribbean for two hundred years, Ligon's True And Exact History of The Island Of Barbados is the central text that records and, in part, worries over this transformation.

Reviews

Ligon's True and Exact History of the Island of Barbados is the most significant book-length English text written about the Caribbean in the seventeenth century. [It] allows one to see the contested process behind the making of the Caribbean sugar/African slavery complex. Kupperman is one of the leading scholars of the early modern Atlantic world. . . . I cannot think of any scholar better prepared to write an Introduction that places Ligon, his text, and Barbados in an Atlantic historical context. The Introduction is quite thorough, readable, and accurate; the notes [are] exemplary! --Susan Parrish, University of Michigan
A foundational text for the history and literature of the early Caribbean and the early Americas. Kupperman's expert Introduction and annotations . . . make this important text come alive for scholarly and undergraduate audiences alike. In all aspects, this edition is a model of historical and textual scholarship. --Ralph Robert Bauer, University of Maryland
Scholars, students, and general readers will applaud and greatly appreciate the context Kupperman provides in her highly informative, insightful Introduction and notes. This volume offers readers the opportunity to explore Ligon's world and times, when sugar and black slavery were dramatically and aggressively transforming Caribbean society and contributing to English economic, maritime, and imperial strength. --David Barry Gaspar, Duke University
"Ligon' True and Exact History is perhaps the most important document regarding English colonization efforts in the 17th-century Caribbean. The book offers a wealth of information about the natural world--Barbados' climate, flora, and fauna--as well as social and economic conditions on the island in the late 1640s. Scholars have long used the text as a source for tracing the development of sugar and slavery, in particular. Although previously available in a facsimile edition, Kupperman' is the first modern, edited version of the text, and it is a most welcome publication. Kupperman, one of the foremost scholars of the 17th-century Atlantic world, has written an excellent introduction that outlines what is known about Ligon and provides context on issues ranging from early modern ideas about the environment, to conditions in Barbados during the tobacco era, to the rise of sugar and the island' place in England' emerging empire. Throughout, Kupperman provides detailed, useful notes that make the text accessible to students and others. . . . This is a first-rate example of historical editing. Highly recommended." --M. Mulcahy, Loyola College in Maryland, in CHOICE

Author Bio

Karen Ordahl Kupperman is Silver Professor of History, New York University.