A Review of Chapters Seven and Nine of “from Columbus to Castro” by Eric Williams.
Summary
Eric William in chapters seven and nine of his book, “From Columbus to Castro”, provides his readers with an in-depth knowledge about the political and economic history of the Caribbean. Eric William gives his readers the story of how Europeans “discovered” the Caribbean and how they governed it. Thus the various events that took place right from the time of Christopher Columbus, focusing on the colonial sweepstakes pursued by France, England, the Netherlands, Spain, and Denmark. The main idea of chapter seven is how the Caribbean came to be the cock pit of European rivalry and wars in the latter parts of the fifteenth century up to the eighteenth century, an interesting tale of adventure, greed and cruelty. What William offers here is a broad overview of the history of the Caribbean, with special emphasis on England, France and Holland whom he describes as “new comers”, who through various means fair and foul, gradually suppressed Spanish territorial powers in the Caribbean region. Chapter nine discusses how sugar revolutionalised the Caribbean economy from the seventeenth century through to the eighteenth century.
Assessment and Evaluation
The author gives a historical antecedent of the power struggle revolving around the control of resources in the Caribbean region. He justifies this from paragraph one of chapter seven by stating that gold, sugar and slaves, the ‘Caribbean trinity’ represented an enormous accession of power and wealth. This gives the reader an idea about what he or she should
In pages 69 and 70 the author gives an account of how countries like Portugal, Venice and even Columbus’ own country, Genoa, rejected his idea of finding a new route to India by going west. He vividly states that it was Spain that reached an agreement with Columbus to sponsor his voyage. This provides the reader with firsthand information of how a younger nation, Spain, became the first European country to acquire territories in the New World. The exploration of
Eric William in chapters seven and nine of his book, “From Columbus to Castro”, provides his readers with an in-depth knowledge about the political and economic history of the Caribbean. Eric William gives his readers the story of how Europeans “discovered” the Caribbean and how they governed it. Thus the various events that took place right from the time of Christopher Columbus, focusing on the colonial sweepstakes pursued by France, England, the Netherlands, Spain, and Denmark. The main idea of chapter seven is how the Caribbean came to be the cock pit of European rivalry and wars in the latter parts of the fifteenth century up to the eighteenth century, an interesting tale of adventure, greed and cruelty. What William offers here is a broad overview of the history of the Caribbean, with special emphasis on England, France and Holland whom he describes as “new comers”, who through various means fair and foul, gradually suppressed Spanish territorial powers in the Caribbean region. Chapter nine discusses how sugar revolutionalised the Caribbean economy from the seventeenth century through to the eighteenth century.
Assessment and Evaluation
The author gives a historical antecedent of the power struggle revolving around the control of resources in the Caribbean region. He justifies this from paragraph one of chapter seven by stating that gold, sugar and slaves, the ‘Caribbean trinity’ represented an enormous accession of power and wealth. This gives the reader an idea about what he or she should
In pages 69 and 70 the author gives an account of how countries like Portugal, Venice and even Columbus’ own country, Genoa, rejected his idea of finding a new route to India by going west. He vividly states that it was Spain that reached an agreement with Columbus to sponsor his voyage. This provides the reader with firsthand information of how a younger nation, Spain, became the first European country to acquire territories in the New World. The exploration of