Mulcahy Hurricanes and Society in the British Greater Caribbean, 1624–1783

Erscheinungsjahr 2008
ISBN: 978-0-8018-9897-6
Verlag: Johns Hopkins University Press
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)

E-Book, Englisch, 0 Seiten, Format (B × H): 152 mm x 229 mm

Reihe: Early America: History, Context, Culture

Hurricanes created unique challenges for the colonists in the British Greater Caribbean during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These storms were entirely new to European settlers and quickly became the most feared part of their physical environment, destroying staple crops and provisions, leveling plantations and towns, disrupting shipping and trade, and resulting in major economic losses for planters and widespread privation for slaves.

In this study, Matthew Mulcahy examines how colonists made sense of hurricanes, how they recovered from them, and the role of the storms in shaping the development of the region's colonial settlements. Hurricanes and Society in the British Greater Caribbean, 1624–1783 provides a useful new perspective on several topics including colonial science, the plantation economy, slavery, and public and private charity. By integrating the West Indies into the larger story of British Atlantic colonization, Mulcahy's work contributes to early American history, Atlantic history, environmental history, and the growing field of disaster studies.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Mulcahy, Matthew

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Amerikanische Geschichte
• Geowissenschaften Umweltwissenschaften Naturgewalten & Katastrophen
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Melancholy and Fatal Calamities
1. Encountering Hurricanes
2. "A Conspiracy of the Winds"
3. Weathering the Storms
4. Chaotic and Scarce Times
5. Building for Disaster
6. Sympathy in Distress
7. The Politics of Public Relief
Conclusion: Beyond 1783
Appendix
Notes
Essay on Sources
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Mulcahy, Matthew
Matthew Mulcahy is associate professor and chair of the history department at Loyola College in Maryland.