Brother's Keeper: The United States, Race, and Empire in the British Caribbean, 1937-1962

by Jason C. Parker

Overview

In 1962, amidst the Cuban Revolution, Third World decolonization, and the African American freedom movement, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago became the first British West Indian colonies to gain independence. These were not only the first new nations in the western hemisphere in more than fifty years; they also won their independence without the bloodshed that marked so much of the decolonization struggle elsewhere. Jason Parker's international history of the peaceful transition in these islands analyzes the roles of the United States, Britain, the West Indies, and the transnational African diaspora in the process, from its 1930s stirrings to its Cold War culmination. Grounded in exhaustive research conducted in seven countries, Brother's Keeper offers an original rethinking of the relationship between the Cold War and Third World decolonization.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199715749
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/30/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	674 KB

About the Author

Jason C. Parker is Assistant Professor of History at Texas A & M University.

Table of Contents

Introduction     3
The West Indian Watershed     16
A More American Lake     40
A Chill in the Tropics     67
Building a Bulwark     93
The American Lake or the Castro Caribbean?     119
Collapse: The Broken Bulwark     140
Conclusion     161
Notes     171
Bibliography     215
Index     235

Editorial Reviews

"Based on impressive archival scholarship...A solid contribution to the historical scholarship of the twentieth-century British Caribbean and the African diaspora."—Juanita De Barros, The American Historical Review

"A phenomenally valuable transnational and multiarchival study that should be a model for those who work in this field of diplomatic history...Highly recommended."—T. Zoumaras, CHOICE

"A nuanced, original study that offers insights into the complex interplay of geopolitics, economics, race, and local identity in the pivotal middle decades of the twentieth century."—Jason Colby, The Journal of American History

"In this richly documented study of US policy toward the British West Indies, Jason Parker adopts an ambitiously multivalent approach, tracing the intersecting influences of the Cold War and decolonization, nationalist political aspirations and transnational racial identities, dreams of regional federation and fears of communist subversion. The result is a fresh and insightful book that speaks to some of the key issues that shaped world affairs in this period."—Dane Kennedy, George Washington University

"Jason Parker's Brother's Keeper fills in a significant gap in our knowledge of the British Caribbean and its ties to the United States, an understudied yet important relationship. Utilizing multinational archival research and highlighting important factors such as race, Parker provides a good case study of decolonization during the tumultuous times of the first half of the Cold War. It is a must read for anyone interested in U.S. relations with its hemispheric neighbors."—Kyle Longley, author of In the Eagle's Shadow: The United States and Latin America

"Brother's Keeper has the archival depth and breadth to carry convincingly a very complicated story about the transfer of power in the Caribbean and how race and the Cold War influenced and shaped that transfer. Parker has an especially keen ability to never lose sight of each important element of this story—the British, the Jamaicans, the Trinidadians, the Americans, and African Americans. This is no small feat and he pulls it off seemingly effortlessly, which is a testament to his skill as a researcher, writer, and historian."—Carol Anderson, author of Eyes off the Prize: The United Nations and the African American Struggle for Human Rights, 1944-1955

"Parker's research rightfully broadens the study of Cold War decolonization to include peaceful political transitions. His transnational and international perspective highlights the importance of these trends and events and emphasizes the importance of comparative study of the Third World during the Cold War."—Journal of Social History

"A simply superb study...The author weaves an attractively coherent and highly persuasive multidimensional narrative with consummate skill and exemplary literary flourish...It persuasively demonstrates that the context of European, North American, and Caribbean relations was far more complex and complexly interrelated than the conventional views of the best available published texts."—Diplomatic History

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