Synopses & Reviews
The idea that sugar, plantations, slavery, and capitalism were all present at the birth of the Atlantic world has long dominated scholarly thinking. In nine original essays by a multinational group of top scholars,
Tropical Babylons re-evaluates this so-called "sugar revolution." The most comprehensive comparative study to date of early Atlantic sugar economies, this collection presents a revisionist examination of the origins of society and economy in the Atlantic world.
Focusing on areas colonized by Spain and Portugal (before the emergence of the Caribbean sugar colonies of England, France, and Holland), these essays show that despite reliance on common knowledge and technology, there were considerable variations in the way sugar was produced. With studies of Iberia, Madeira and the Canary Islands, Hispaniola, Cuba, Brazil, and Barbados, this volume demonstrates the similarities and differences between the plantation colonies, questions the very idea of a sugar revolution, and shows how the specific conditions in each colony influenced the way sugar was produced and the impact of that crop on the formation of "tropical Babylons"--multiracial societies of great oppression.
Review
"A substantial overall contribution to several connected fields. It provides considerably new information.
(Franklin W. Knight, The Johns Hopkins University, author of Slave Society in Cuba during the Nineteenth Century)"
Review
"Breathtaking. . . . Offer[s] stimulating insights. . . . Might produce some stimulating comparative discussion."
Choice
Review
"
Tropical Babylons greatly enhances our understanding of two previously unexplored centuries in the history of sugar.
(Francisco Scarano, University of Wisconsin-Madison)"
Synopsis
This collection of original essays provides a comparative study of early Caribbean sugar economies as well as a revisionist examination of the origins of society and economy in the Atlantic world. Schwartz also examines the role of plantation colonies in the formation of multiracial, oppressive societies.
Synopsis
"The handiest volume on the subject of sugar. . . . Well produced. . . . Clear, readable prose."
Businesss History Review "Breathtaking. . . . Offer[s] stimulating insights. . . . Might produce some stimulating comparative discussion."
Choice "A substantial overall contribution to several connected fields. It provides considerably new information.
(Franklin W. Knight, The Johns Hopkins University, author of Slave Society in Cuba during the Nineteenth Century)" "Tropical Babylons greatly enhances our understanding of two previously unexplored centuries in the history of sugar.
(Francisco Scarano, University of Wisconsin-Madison)"