Abstract
THIS valuable work has been published at an opportune moment, for the decisions of the Imperial Government in such matters as the withdrawal of the white troops and the non-renewal of the mail contract have led to a widespread idea that our West Indian possessions are about reaching the most momentous stage in their long history, namely, their transfer to the United States—an extreme step which is hardly likely to be taken in our time. The volume deals not only with the West Indian islands proper, from Jamaica round to Trinidad, but also with the Bermudas, the Bahamas, the mainland colonies of Guiana and Honduras, and even the far distant possessions in the Cape Horn region—the Falkland Islands and South Georgia. The total area aggregates 127,345 square miles, Guiana alone being 100,000, and Honduras 7562 square miles. The remainder is cut up into a multitude of small islands, ranging down to the Bermudas group, of 19 square miles. Yet each island, however small, has its own separate history. Originally the Spaniards had Papal authority for taking possession of the New World, but they were not a colonising people, and as “conquerors and crusaders they looked for a large area of territory; consequently, while they discovered the whole ring of islands, they settled on the larger ones only, and on those only which lay nearer to the continent. With the smaller islands they had little dealings beyond carrying off their inhabitants for slaves.” There was thus no effective occupation of the large majority of the islands, and English, French, and Dutch buccaneers appearing on the scene, in the course of time they divided the islands between them, the lion's share eventually, as the result of treaties or wars, falling to the English. The earliest of the British possessions was Barbados (160), the latest, by conquest, St. Lucia and Tobago (1803). Obviously, within the compass of a single volume, only a general historical account of each colony could be given, and Mr. Lucas has accomplished his task most successfully. But in addition to the purely historical portion he supplies much information relating to the geography, the geology, and the climate of the islands—as varied as their history. The economic conditions are also fully set forth, the particular industries of the several islands, their exports and imports, and so on, while the form of government of each colony is described. There is a very complete index, and at the end of each chapter there is a list of books and publications which will afford the reader fuller details, many other authorities being referred to in footnotes.
A Historical Geography of the British Colonies.
By C. P. Lucas Vol. ii. The West Indies. Second edition, revised by C. Atchley. Pp. 348; diagram and maps. (Oxford: The Clarendon Press.) Price 7s. 6d.
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A Historical Geography of the British Colonies . Nature 73, 245 (1906). https://doi.org/10.1038/073245b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/073245b0