Contesting Freedon

This collection of studies is concerned with exploring some of the many issues faced by Caribbean Societies, as those societies grappled with the problems generated by the demise of slavery. The experiences of the post-slavery period make the Caribbean less of a homogenous area of study then the slave period, when the commonalities were more obvious and compelling. The circumstances in which the slave systems were dismantled, and the differences in the timing of the end of slavery combine with other factors to make the Caribbean an area of diverse post-emancipation experiences, despite some obvious areas of real commonality.

The present volume seeks to contribute to the understanding of the post emancipation period by taking as its jumping off point the debate over continuity and change, and has as its central concerns the issues of conflict, control and resistance. The issues covered by the contributors include law and the penal system; riots and social uprising; labour control; religion, marriage and other areas of cultural interest. This collection is a result of a fruitful collaboration between the Centre for Caribbean Studies at the University of Warwick and the UNESCO-York University Nigerian Hinterland Project funded by the Canadian Social Sciences and Research Council.