This book describes the period in Jamaica's history that follows the abolition of slavery, up to the introduction of universal adult suffrage. These years are the least studied period of Jamaica's modern history, and Bryan provides a penetrating analysis of the social, intellectual and political history of this era.

Crown colony government, law and order, religious and social structure, labour, health and poor relief, the black middle class and the ideas of the black intelligentsia are explored in the context of race, class and ethnicity.

This collection of essays by internationally recognized scholars began as a series of lectures, sponsored by the Department of History, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica to honor internationally recognized Caribbean historian Elsa Goveia. The collection consists of thirteen lectures delivered between 1987 and 1998. The book is divided into two broad sections: (1) Slavery and Freedom, which features critical research on slavery and post-emancipation society, and (2) Gender.

What was it like to be a small boy growing up in Kingston, Jamaica in the 1930s? When Me Was a Boy tells exactly what it was like. Charles Hyatt remembers his boyhood in vivid detail, and in his own inimitable voice talked about it in his radio programme When Me Was a Boy. In this selection from those pieces, Hyatt brings his school days to life: the tramcar and horse-and-buggy days when cars were few and far between and taking a walk was a social occasion. These are hilarious moment -- look out for the Black Heart Man -- and historic ones, and Hyatt's sharp observation and remarkable memory...