Richard S Dunn

First published by UNC Press in 1972, Sugar and Slaves presents a vivid portrait of English life in the Caribbean more than three centuries ago. Using a host of contemporary primary sources, Richard Dunn traces the development of plantation slave society in the region. He examines sugar production techniques, the vicious character of the slave trade, the problems of adapting English ways to the tropics, and the appalling mortality rates for both blacks...

"This book reconstructs the individual lives and collective experiences of some 2,000 slaves on two plantations--Mesopotamia sugar estate in western Jamaica and Mount Airy Plantation in tidewater Virginia--during the final three generations of slavery in Jamaica and the USA. It also compares Mesopotamia with Mount Airy to demonstrate the differences between slave life in the British West Indies and slave life in the Antebellum US South. The chief...

"During the years covered in this volume, Europe experienced a tumultuous period of civil wars and rebellions. Although each upheaval had its distinct character, a common thread running through the age was strife between adherents of the Catholic and Protestant churches. From the day in 1517 that Martin Luther had posted his ninety-five theses, religion became embroiled in politics. But the period of greatest militancy on both sides--of crusaders...