Product Description

Islanders in the Stream: A History of the Bahamian People Volume 2 examines the social developments of the Bahamas from 1834 to the present. An eminent product of the New Social History, the volume recounts adjustments to emancipation made by former masters and former slaves between 1834 and 1900, traces the process of modernization between 1900 and 1973, and concludes with a candid study of social change since 1973, current problems, and an analysis of what makes the Bahamas and Bahamians distinctive in the world. The authors skillfully interweave broad historical narrative with details drawn from travelers' accounts, autobiographies, private letters, and reconstructed official dispatches and newspaper reports. Lavishly illustrated with contemporary photographs and original maps, this book is a model for national histories.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #51182 in Books
• Published on: 2000-07-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 584 pages

From Library Journal
Written by a native archivist and a historian, this social history of the peoples of the Bahamian islands is unique. Non-Eurocentric in focus, it emphasizes the daily lives of the islanders through their own words and artifacts. The authors also depart from the usual approach to Caribbean history, refusing to treat all islands as the same in their characteristics and history. This work sets a standard for other islanders to aspire to in writing their own histories. A worthy addition to academic libraries and Caribbean collections.
- Suzanne C. Garrison-Terry, Dowling Coll. Lib., Oakdale, N.Y.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

About the Author
Michael Craton is a professor of history at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. Gail Saunders is the Archivist of the Bahamas in Nassau. Her works include Bahamian Loyalists and Their Slaves and Bahamian Society after Emancipation.

Customer Reviews

nders In The Stream
As a veteran of five trips to the Bahamas with my wife, I would recommend this book as an in depth detailed historical work about the Bahamas.

Many things in the book explain the modern make up of the Bahamas; such as English names from the American loyalists who arrived after the American Revolution and the mixed agricultural results which are still a problem today due to the difficulty of growing crops in very inhospitable soil.

As mentioned in the book they grow pineapples on Eluthera brought there by some displaced Germans. (We had some of these pineapples and they are wonderfully sweet)!

Unfortunatly the authors talk little about the Abacos which have at least as colorful a history as Eleuthera and I feel that is a minor negative. The coverge of the pirate era is very detailed and interesting while the records and descriptions of slavery paint a sad picture of that time.

Landmark Bahamian Social History
The first volume is heavy on census analysis in later chapters. Otherwise, it's an eminently readable social history of Bahamian islanders to the formal end of slavery. Particularly fascinating and well-done are the opening chapters on Lucayan origins, lifeways, and ultimately fatal convergence with imperial Spain.

The second volume of Craton's social history of Bahamians is immensely, intricately detailed--to the point that it's difficult for a casual reader to retain interest. Since it provides a wealth of statistical information and analyses of sociological trends, the book is probably best suited to dedicated scholars of Bahamian or Caribbean history. As a general overview of Bahamian history from the 1830s to the present, this book is likely too academic and detailed for the purpose.

A wonderful History of the Bahamas
I used this book in 2004 in a Bahamian History course. It is an excellent book, well researched, interesting photos and really gets into the depth of where Bahamians came from. It is organized by topics according to the many 'eras' the Bahamas went through from the Emancipation of slaves to the early 1995. It sheds light on the events which have shaped the ideologies and customs of Bahamians. It also makes very good reading.