 | Eric Williams and the Making of the Modern Caribbean Subjects: Williams Eric Eustace 1911–; Trinidad and Tobago -- Politics and government -- 20th century; West Indies British -- Politics and government -- 20th century; Born in Trinidad, Eric Williams (1911-81) founded the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago's first modern political party in 1956, led the country to independence from the British culminating in 1962, and became the nation's first prime minister. Before entering politics, he was a professor at Howard University and wrote several books, including the classic Capitalism and Slavery . In the first scholarly biography of Williams, Colin Palmer provides insights into Williams's personality that illuminate his life as a scholar and politician and his tremendous influence on the historiography and politics of the Caribbean. Palmer focuses primarily on the fourteen-year period of struggles for independence in the Anglophone Caribbean. From 1956, when Williams became the chief minister of Trinidad and Tobago, to 1970, when the Black Power-inspired February Revolution brought his administration face to face with a younger generation intellectually indebted to his revolutionary thought, Williams was at the center of most of the conflicts and challenges that defined the region. He was most aggressive in advocating the creation of a West Indies federation to help the region assert itself in international political and economic arenas. Looking at the ideas of Williams as well as those of his Caribbean and African peers, Palmer demonstrates how the development of the modern Caribbean was inextricably intertwined with the evolution of a regional anticolonial consciousness. Colin Alphonsous Palmer was born on March 23, 1944, in Lambs River, Jamaica. He earned a bachelor¿s degree in 1964 at University College of the West Indies at Mona in Jamaica and was considering teaching secondary school when he was offered a graduate fellowship at the University of Wisconsin. He earned a master¿s degree there in 1966 and a Ph.D. in 1970. He became a historian and published his first of many books in 1976 - Slaves of the White God: Blacks in Mexico, 1570-1650. It chronicled a period when the colonies that would become the United States were still in their formative stages. The book set him on a career-long path. Professor Palmer urged students to consider whether the term "African diaspora" was even appropriate, given the cultural and linguistic diversity within the African continent, and to make sure that any examination of diaspora began with a study of Africa itself. Professor Palmer also wrote well-regarded articles and books on the Caribbean countries, including - Eric Williams and the Making of the Modern Caribbean (2006), about the historian and politician who led Trinidad and Tobago to independence. In an academic career of more than 40 years, he taught at Oakland University in Michigan, the University of North Carolina, the City University of New York Graduate Center and Princeton University. Colin A Palmer passed away on June 20, 2019 at the age of 75. (Bowker Author Biography) |
