Review by Choice Review
Butler's narrowly focused economic study of the financial viability of the planter class of Jamaica and Barbados has the limited appeal of much academic research. In 1834 slavery was abolished in the British Empire, and 20 million pounds sterling was given as compensation to the owners of slaves. Through analysis of hundreds of plantation records and, more particularly, Courts of Chancery records, Butler examines the effect of that compensation on these two planter societies. Her analysis focuses on three points: the impact of compensation on planter debt and the subsequent availability of credit; the impact on the value and subsequent ownership of land; and the impact on imports. The inclusion of 32 tables, three figures, four maps, plus eight additional tables in the appendix indicates the data-oriented nature of this book. The author's conclusions about compensation and the subsequent histories of the islands are not new, but this is the first time that anyone has assessed the records to support those conclusions. Graduate, faculty. R. T. Brown; Westfield State College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
