West Indies History

Unveil the thrilling life of Juan Ponce de León, the fearless Spanish conquistador, whose quest for gold, glory, and the mythical Fountain of Youth shaped the destiny of an entire continent. "Juan Ponce de León: Conquistador, Explorer, and the Shaping of the New World" delves into the gripping narrative of a man whose legacy extends far beyond legend, touching the foundations of modern Puerto Rican and American history.

Step into the world of the powerful Taíno leader, Agüeybaná the Great, who led the first organized resistance against Spanish colonization. This compelling narrative transports you to 16th-century Puerto Rico, where the clash between indigenous civilization and European empire was about to reshape history. Discover the rich culture of the Taíno people, their deep connection to the land, and their highly organized society led by caciques like Agüeybaná.

To those who travel there today, the West Indies are unspoiled paradise islands. Yet that image conceals a turbulent, dramatic, and shocking history. For some 200 years after 1650, the West Indies became the strategic center of the Western world, witnessing one of the greatest power struggles of the age as Europeans made and lost immense fortunes growing and trading in sugar - a commodity so lucrative it became known as "white gold".

In the early 18th century, the Pirate Republic was home to some of the great pirate captains, including Blackbeard, "Black Sam" Bellamy, and Charles Vane. Along with their fellow pirates - former sailors, indentured servants, and runaway slaves - this "Flying Gang" established a crude but distinctive democracy in the Bahamas, carving out their own zone of freedom in which servants were free, Blacks could be equal citizens, and leaders were chosen or deposed by a vote.

After being held prisoner and tortured by the cruel Seelie Queen, West's past comes back to haunt him. His memories of a tragic event and the truth of what happened on the Light side goes deeper than anyone realizes. Things he wants no one to know about. Struggling with his own demons, he battles the very essence of what he is - a Dark Dweller - a terrifying beast from the Otherworld designed to hunt and kill. When the Unseelie King sends him to Ireland to uncover a dangerous artifact, West's entire world takes a dangerous turn.

Filled with unforgettable stories of emperors, generals, and religious patriarchs, as well as fascinating glimpses into the life of the ordinary citizen, Lost to the West reveals how much we owe to the Byzantine Empire that was the equal of any in its achievements, appetites, and enduring legacy...

This powerful, intensely dramatic book is the definitive account of the Haitian Revolution of 1794-1803. It is the story of the French colony of San Domingo, a place where the brutality of master toward slave was commonplace and ingeniously refined. And it is the story of a barely literate slave named Toussaint L'Ouverture, who led the black people of San Domingo in a successful struggle against successive invasions by overwhelming French, Spanish, and English forces and, in the process, helped form the first independent nation in the Caribbean.

Eddie Cantrell, now married to the king of Denmark’s daughter, is sent by Admiral Simpson to the Caribbean to secure access to the most valuable commodity on that continent - not the gold and silver which the Spanish treasure, but the oil which up-time machines and industry need. The admiral has also provided Eddie’s small task force with the new steam-powered frigates that have just come out of the navy’s shipyards. Even with the frigates, a giant obstacle stands in his way.

The first and only successful slave revolution in the Americas began in 1791 when thousands of brutally exploited slaves rose up against their masters on Saint-Domingue, the most profitable colony in the 18th-century Atlantic world. Within a few years, the slave insurgents forced the French administrators of the colony to emancipate them, a decision ratified by revolutionary Paris in 1794. This victory was a stunning challenge to the order of master/slave relations throughout the Americas, including the Southern United States.

"My name has become a horror to all those who want slavery," declared Jean‑Jacques Dessalines as he announced the independence of Haiti, the most radical nation‑state during the Age of Revolution and the first country ever to permanently outlaw slavery. Enslaved for the first thirty years of his life, Dessalines (c. 1758–1806) joined the revolution that abolished slavery within the French colony. Then he became a general in the colonial army of the new French Republic. When it was discovered that France once again supported slavery, Dessalines declared war on his former allies.

Discover Jamaica’s Journey: From Ancient Tribes to the Fight for Freedom.

The Haitian Revolution began in 1791 in the French colony of Saint Domingue, when a group of slaves rebelled in order to secure their freedom and the end of slavery. In the midst of the French Revolution, slaves took advantage of volatile political, racial, and social circumstances. With legendary leaders like Toussaint Louverture, they eventually defeated Napoleon’s France to form the independent nation of Haiti. The Haitian Revolution had both global causes and consequences.

In October 1962, when the United States confronted the Soviet Union over its installation of missiles in Cuba, few people shared the behind-the-scenes story as it is told here by the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy. In this unique account, he describes the hour-by-hour negotiations, with particular attention to the actions and views of his brother, President John F. Kennedy. In a foreword to this edition, the distinguished historian and Kennedy adviser Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., discusses the book's enduring importance and the significance of new information about the crisis that has come to light from the former Soviet Union.

She’s a ball-busting businesswoman with a need for control. I’m a laid-back rancher. Who’s going to win this battle? Me. Yeah, I’m going to rule her world. I might be a billionaire, but I’m a Montana rancher through and through. I lead a simple, quiet life. I don’t care about contracts and mergers. Then why do I want the feisty, pint-sized lawyer from New York? She’s everything I’m not, a workaholic with something to prove. When I get her separated from her cell, her laptop—and her panties—she’ll see there’s more to life than the corner office.

On January 12, 2010, the deadliest earthquake in the history of the Western Hemisphere struck the nation least prepared to handle one. Jonathan M. Katz, the only full-time American news correspondent in Haiti, was inside his house when it buckled along with hundreds of thousands of others. In this visceral first-hand account, Katz takes readers inside the terror of that day, the devastation visited on ordinary Haitians, and through the monumental--yet misbegotten--rescue effort that followed.

In the second half of the 18th century, as European imperial conflicts extended the domain of capitalist agriculture, warring African factions fed their captives to the transatlantic slave trade while masters struggled continuously to keep their restive slaves under the yoke. In this contentious atmosphere, a movement of enslaved West Africans in Jamaica (then called Coromantees) organized to throw off that yoke by violence. Their uprising - which became known as Tacky's Revolt - featured a style of fighting increasingly familiar today....

For this rousing, revisionist history, the former head of exhibitions at England's National Maritime Museum has combed original documents and records to produce a most authoritative and definitive account of piracy's "Golden Age." As he explodes many accepted myths (i.e. "walking the plank" is pure fiction), Cordingly replaces them with a truth that is more complex and often bloodier.

The Caribbean island of Puerto Rico stands at a pivotal crossroads, shaped by over 500 years of political and cultural turbulence. From Spanish colonization in 1493 to its current status as a US territory, Puerto Rico's quest for self-determination and identity remains one of the most complex political narratives in modern history. This book offers a captivating exploration of Puerto Rico’s political evolution, tracing its transformation from a Spanish colony to an unincorporated US territory.

For five horrific weeks after Christmas in 1831, Jamaica was convulsed by an uprising of its enslaved people. What started as a peaceful labor strike quickly turned into a full-blown revolt, leaving hundreds of plantation houses in smoking ruins. By the time British troops had put down the rebels, more than a thousand Jamaicans lay dead from summary executions and extrajudicial murder. While the rebels lost their military gamble, their sacrifice accelerated the larger struggle for freedom in the British Atlantic.

He is one of basketball's towering figures: "Mr. Clutch," who mesmerized his opponents and fans. The coach who began the Lakers' resurgence in the 1970s. The general manager who helped bring "Showtime" to Los Angeles, creating a championship-winning force that continues to this day. Now, for the...