The contribution made to Britain's wealth by its Caribbean colonies is well known. Far less known - indeed dismissively ignored - are the contributions made over the centuries by West Indians to Britain's hard-won military victories, most notably in the two World Wars. At last this injustice has been redressed. In this single volume, the authors tell the compelling story of the Caribbean during nearly five centuries of warfare from the time of Columbus to the present decade; of how West Indian consistently rallied to Britain's side in its many years of peril, volunteers for service in its armed forces or more recently also for work in its wartime factories and forests. The book spotlights the deeds and hardships of West Indian soldiers long engaged in Africa and the Middle East, and of the many who enlisted too in the air forces and merchant navies of the Allies. And it describes the ferocious German submarine campaign in Caribbean waters, the impact that it had on life in the islands and how it was defeated; and it defines also the consequences - social, political and economic - of the World Wars on both the British West Indies and the United Kingdom. Above all, this book is written as a tribute to every West Indian veteran of Britain's wars; also to foster in the generation now growing up an awareness of the sacrifices of their forebears and pride in their achievements.

In July 2011, South Sudan was granted independence and became the world's newest country. Yet just two-and-a-half years after this momentous decision, the country was in the grips of renewed civil war and political strife. Hilde F. Johnson served as Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan from July 2011 until July 2014 and, as such, she was witness to the many challenges which the country faced as it struggled to adjust to its new autonomous state. In this book, she provides an unparalleled insider's account of South Sudan's descent from the ecstatic celebrations of July 2011 to the outbreak of the disastrous conflict in December 2013 and the early, bloody phase of the fighting. Johnson's frequent personal and private contacts at the highest levels of government, accompanied by her deep knowledge of the country and its history, make this a unique eyewitness account of the turbulent first three years of the world's newest - and yet most fragile - country.

“During the Second World War nearly 500 Black Caribbean volunteers served with the RAF . . . This valuable work looks at their experiences.”—HistoryOfWar The heroic exploits of the Caribbean men and women who volunteered their services to the Allied effort during the Second World War have, until now, passed by with little fanfare or attention. Indeed, whilst many people are aware of the contribution that the various Bomber Command units paid in securing ultimate victory, little is said or understood of the achievements and sacrifices of the heroic Caribbean volunteers who contributed to some of their greatest victories. Mark Johnson presents us here with an engrossing and humane account of the exploits of such individuals—including a great number of insights and fascinating details taken from conversations with his great-uncle, John Blair, who served a full tour with Bomber Command, earning a Distinguished Flying Cross. The book illuminates the day-to-day reality of life as a Caribbean volunteer during the Second World War and the kind of culture-clash experiences that characterized their wartime careers. An important book, offering a platform upon which to appreciate the true extent of the Caribbean contribution to the Allied war effort, the work offers a new slant on the popular Bomber Command theme; one that looks set to intrigue a number of readers yet to be acquainted with this facet of the unit’s history. “Entertaining and rewarding . . . it is high time we had more books like this one plugging the knowledge gap and setting a few things straight.”—War History Online

This book is ideal for anyone who reaserching their Caribbean family history The National Archives and beyond. The National Archives holds records for many people who lived in British West Indian colonies such as emigrants, plantation owners, slaves, soldiers, sailors and transported criminals. The Archives also hold the colonial office records for the British West Indies. This includes state correspondence to and from the colonies and passenger lists. Tracing Your Caribbean Ancestors also shows readers how to use family history sources and genealogy websites and indexes beyond The National Archives. Fully updated and revised, this new edition covers recent developments in Caribbean archives, including details of newly released information and archives that are now available online. This book outlines the primary research sources for those tracing their Caribbean ancestry and describes details of access to archives, further reading, useful websites and how to find and accurately search family history sources. As Britain does not hold locally created records of its dependencies such as church records, this book doubles as a gateway to the local history sources throughout the Caribbean that remain in each country's archives and register office. This book will be of use to anyone researching family history in British Caribbean countries of Anguilla, Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, Trinidad and Tobago and the Turks and Caicos Islands as well as Guyana, Belize and Bermuda.

Caribbean plantations and the forces that shaped them--slavery, sugar, capitalism, and the tropical, sometimes deadly environment--have been studied extensively. This volume brings together alternate stories of sites that fall outside the large cash-crop estates. Employing innovative research tools and integrating data from Dominica, St. Lucia, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Barbados, Nevis, Montserrat, and the British Virgin Islands, the contributors investigate the oft-overlooked interstitial spaces where enslaved Africans sought to maintain their own identities inside and outside the fixed borders of colonialism. Despite grueling work regimes and social and economic restrictions, people held in bondage carved out places of their own at the margins of slavery's reach. These essays reveal a complex world within and between sprawling plantations--a world of caves, gullies, provision grounds, field houses, fields, and the areas beyond them, where the enslaved networked, interacted, and exchanged goods and information. The volume also explores the lives of poor whites, Afro-descendant members of military garrisons, and free people of color, demonstrating that binary models of black slaves and white planters do not fully encompass the diversity of Caribbean identities before and after emancipation. Together, the analyses of marginal spaces and postemancipation communities provide a more nuanced understanding of the experiences of those who lived in the historic Caribbean, and who created, nurtured, and ultimately cut the roots of empire. A volume in the Florida Museum of Natural History: Ripley P. Bullen Series

“Indispensable…There is much here to reflect upon.” —President Mikhail Gorbachev “As riveting, eye-opening, and thought-provoking as any history book you will ever read...Can’t recommend it highly enough.” —Glenn Greenwald, The Guardian “Finally, a book with the guts to challenge the accepted narrative of recent American history.” —Bill Maher “Kuznick and Stone’s Untold History is the most important historical narrative of this century; a carefully researched and brilliantly rendered account.” —Martin Sherwin, Pulitzer Prize-winning co-author of American Prometheus “A work of courage, wisdom, and compassion [that] will stand the test of time….A fierce critique and a passionate paean for Stone and Kuznick’s native land.” —Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, author of The Thistle and the Drone The New York Times bestselling companion to the Showtime documentary series now streaming on Netflix, updated to cover the past five years. A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN EMPIRE In this riveting companion to their astonishing documentary series—including a new chapter and new photos covering Obama’s second term, Trump’s first year and a half, climate change, nuclear winter, Korea, Russia, Iran, China, Lybia, ISIS, Syria, and more—Academy Award–winning director Oliver Stone and renowned historian Peter Kuznick challenge prevailing orthodoxies to reveal the dark truth about the rise and fall of American imperialism.