Caribbean History and Culture, 1535-1920

Published by Readex/Newsbank and created from the renowned holdings of the Library Company of Philadelphia, Caribbean History and Culture, 1535-1920, is the largest and most significant collection of its kind. More than 1,200 fully catalogued and searchable books, pamphlets, almanacs, broadsides and ephemera cover the history of this broad region from the 16th century to the early 20th century, expertly compiled by the curators of the extraordinary Afro-Americana Imprints collection.

The geographical focus is all of the islands of the Caribbean Sea, widely referred to as the West Indies, though many works also deal with nearby islands technically not part of the Caribbean chain. Also included are works that cover both Caribbean islands and neighboring areas such as Florida, Mexico and Brazil. In addition, due to the nature of the Atlantic slave trade, some works also cover Africa, especially the West African coastal nations that played a key role in the transportation of the enslaved to the New World. The places of publication include primarily England, France, Spain, the Netherlands and the United States, as well as in the Caribbean itself and other European countries. Most of the works are in English, approximately 250 are in French, and a small number are in the other languages of other Colonial powers that controlled parts of the Caribbean.