"It's hard to picture this part of the country as I first remember it. Here and there was a cabin home with a little spot of clearin close by. The rest of the country was jist one great big woods and miles and miles in most every direction. From your cabin you could see no farther than the wall of trees surrounding the clearin; not another cabin in sight."

Thus begins Oliver Johnson's account of pioneer life in the Indianapolis area in the 1820s and 1830s. Elsewhere, he says, "We lived mighty happy and contented in the early days. With a good snug cabin, a big fireplace, and a supply...

"A significant contribution to the history of the Caribbean and to the comparative study of slavery and transitions to free labor systems."--O. Nigel Bolland, Colgate University

"An extended and comprehensive history of the Bahamas. . . . Shifts the focus of interest from the islands elites to the common people . . . with special reference to the black population which has hitherto been largely ignored in historical writing."--Richard B. Sheridan, University of Kansas, Lawrence

In the only scholarly treatment of Bahamian socioeconomic history in the post-emancipation years,...

"A significant contribution to the history of the Caribbean and to the comparative study of slavery and transitions to free labor systems."--O. Nigel Bolland, Colgate University

"An extended and comprehensive history of the Bahamas. . . . Shifts the focus of interest from the islands elites to the common people . . . with special reference to the black population which has hitherto been largely ignored in historical writing."--Richard B. Sheridan, University of Kansas, Lawrence

In the only scholarly treatment of Bahamian socioeconomic history in the post-emancipation years,...