The Hanging of Arthur Hodge-A Caribbean Anti-Slavery Milestone - selected for the Best Non-Fiction Book Award by The Sacramento Publishers Association - is a study of slavery in the British West Indies during the half-century before Parliaments 1834 decision to emancipate the slaves. Its focus is on the crimes, trial and execution of Arthur Hodge, a prominent Virgin Islands planter and politician whose unprecedented hanging for the murder of Prosper, one of his own slaves, was to rouse the British anti-slavery movement from the contentment it was enjoying following the abolition of the slave trade and help direct its efforts toward the ultimate emancipation of the slaves throughout the British Empire. The life, trial and execution of Arthur Hodge is a story of great interest in its own right, but that story is also important because it was truly a milestone on the road to the end of slavery in the British Empire. Arthur Hodge was a dominant figure in the Virgin Islands in the early 1800s. Born in the islands, he studied at Oxford and later served in the British army. His wife was a sister-in-law of the Marquess of Exeter. He was described as a man of great accomplishments and elegant manners. But evidence presented during his trial revealed another side of his character. Between 1803 and 1808 Hodge had murdered as many as sixty - or one-half - of the slaves who labored on his Tortola plantation. They died by whipping, scalding and having boiling water poured down their throats. Although Hodges treatment of his slaves was common knowledge, he was only brought to trial several years after the killings as a consequence of a political and personal dispute. Hodge was found guilty of murder by a local jury and - when the Governor of the Leeward Islands chose to ignore the jurys recommendation of leniency -became the only slave owner in the history of the British West Indies to be executed for the murder of one of his own slaves. Hodges character contrasted sharply with that of his chief prosecutor, Governor Hugh Elliot, a noted diplomat and a supporter of the anti-slavery forces in Great Britain whose brother, the Earl of Minto, was currently Viceroy of India and whose brother-in-law, Lord Auckland, had - four years before - carried the bill ending the slave trade in the House of Lords. The hanging of Arthur Hodge caused a sensation and transcripts of his trial were published in both Great Britain and the United States. The news helped to revitalize the anti-slavery forces, playing an important role in the debates leading to the establishment of slave registries and the accountability they implied throughout the Caribbean colonies. After a brief introduction which concludes with the language of the indictment issued against Hodge and his counsels response that "A Negro being property, it was no greater offense for his master to kill him than it would be to kill his dog," the book opens with a short history of the settlement of the Virgin Islands and descriptions - from contemporary sources - of the lives of plantation owners and of their slaves. Included are personal descriptions of enslavement in Africa, the Middle Passage, the work and recreation of the slaves, their religious beliefs and the brutalities which some of them endured. The following chapters contain biographies of Hodge and Elliot and a recapitulation of the events which led to Hodges indictment and trial. Original transcripts and reports were used as the basis for the report of the trial and execution. The book concludes with a discussion of the effects of the Hodge affair on the anti-slavery movement and capsule descriptions of the subsequent careers some of those involved. (Governor Elliot later served in India as Governor of Madras and is buried in Westminster Abbey). The work is based upon original and other contemporary sources, including both the published and official manuscript transcripts of Hodges trial and Governor Elliot

Women of the Virgin Islands: From the Field to the Legislature recognizes and restores women to their central role in the history of the Virgin Islands by examining their lives from the earliest days of the colony's settlement. Constrained by their sex, race, and colonized status, women, nevertheless, led lives of ordinary heroism, which ensured the territory's economic, social, and cultural survival. In this comprehensive history of women in one of the world's last British colonies, O'Neal shows how women continue to define and redefine themselves and their roles in both their public and private lives, even as the colony itself undergoes its own transformation. As the twenty-first century begins, this book takes a look back at the role colonialism played in the twentieth century in furthering male political leadership and patriarchal norms. While party politics might have had the potential to advance women's political careers, O'Neal concludes they have largely failed to do so despite the advances women have made. Beginning in the late 1600s, when the islands were first colonized by the British, O'Neal examines the growth of slavery and shows how women exercised leadership roles in their community while preserving some of the traditions of their native Africa. She moves on to discuss the shaping of women's roles after the abolition of slavery and the struggles women faced as a result. Moving into the twentieth century, the book takes a look at women in the economy, society, government, education, and even in the family, and explores how roles have grown and changed even as the islands themselves continue to be transformed. O'Neal shows that while patriarchal attitudes were strengthened, women still found their way into the public arena, albeit with difficulty, influencing all areas of social policy. This book represents a truly original and enlightening addition to the literature on the Virgin Islands and Caribbean history.

Seasoned by Salt is the fascinating account of a one-year cruise, from Connecticut to Grenada and back, undertaken by a sailing couple. The book alternates throughout their complementary voices as they relive their journey. They are not your average tourists. Their story is brimming with humor and high adventure, and reflects a deep understanding of the history, people, and economy of the many islands that they visited.

This book focuses on the post-emancipation period in the Caribbean and how local societies dealt with the new socio-economic conditions. Scholars from Jamaica, the Virgin Islands, England, Denmark and The Netherlands link this era with the contemporary Caribbean.

This volume looks at the ways historians have written the history of the region, depending upon their methods of interpretation and differing styles of communicating their findings. The chapters discussing methodology are followed by studies of particular themes of historiography. The second half of the volume describes the writing of history in the individual territories, taking into account changes in society, economy and political structure. The final section is a full and detailed bibliography serving not only as a guide to the volume but also as an invaluable reference for the General History of the Caribbcan as a whole.

Containing over 25,000 entries, this unique volume will be absolutely indispensable for all those with an interest in Britain in the twentieth century. Accessibly arranged by theme, with helpful introductions to each chapter, a huge range of topics is covered. There is a comprehensiveindex.