2012-2013 Academic Catalog

Apr 29, 2024

2012-2013 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

HIST 327 - The Caribbean in the Era of Slavery, 1492-1886

Type of Course: Lecture, Discussion

The first encounters between Europeans and Indians occurred in the Caribbean. Spanish arms, germs and labor demands dramatically reduced the numbers of natives, while changing their world beyond recognition. A second profound transformation took place in the 17th century, when other European powers moved into the area. From an economic backwater, the Caribbean became an economic laboratory, the site of a profoundly capitalist transformation. A new demographic environment was created as the coexistence of European and native peoples gave way to a population of large groups of African slaves and European indentured servants and wage laborers. This course will follow the tensions among colonial powers, between slaves and masters, and between colonies and metropoles through the eradication of slavery.