Dual Legacies in the Contemporary Caribbean

Dual Legacies in the Contemporary Caribbean (1986) is a comparative and systematic study of the legacies bequeathed by British and French colonial rule in the Caribbean. It examines in detail what are self-evidently among the more tangible legacies from the era of slavery presently manifest in the region: the pattern, structure and decline of the sugar economy in the French and Commonwealth Caribbean; the continuing influence of Britain in the pre- and post-independence political systems of the Commonwealth Caribbean, as well as of France over its Caribbean possessions; and the retention and adaptation of cultural forms derived from colonial practice as variously exhibited in the educational and ideological beliefs current within the region. These essays offer provocative insights and report intriguing parallels between the British and French experiences in the region. They also offer new interpretations of the processes at work in the area and confirm the utility of the comparative approach in appraising its problems.