Thomas, Kimberley Emma (2019) Beyond the plantation: salt, Turks Islands, Bermuda and the British Atlantic world, 1660s-1850s. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis offers a briny counterpoint to the sugar-centred focus of Caribbean historiography, finding encouragement in research that looks beyond the plantation and towards the Atlantic’s maritime and migratory populations.

It argues that the model of plantation-driven development cannot adequately explain the diverse array of socioeconomic and political processes that occurred within the Caribbean. It uses the principal salt islands of the British Caribbean – Turks Islands – as a case study and follows a sinew population of Bermudian salt gatherers, merchants and enslaved salt rakers into an alternative space of slavery. Its chronological scope begins with these islands’ discovery by seafaring Bermudians in the 1660s and extends to a generation beyond emancipation. It takes a cis-Atlantic approach, exploring different historical themes at different analytical scales, in order to demonstrate that the history of Turks Islands, and their position within the British Atlantic world, cannot be fully understood without salt taking centre stage. However, while this thesis diversifies our understanding of Caribbean processes, it does not intend to fragment the region’s history further. Here the salt industry did not compete with the sugar industry. It complemented, supported and literally fed into it, as salted rations reinforced plantation provisioning. In delving into the history of salt’s production and trade, this thesis shines a light on an ancillary industry of the sugar plantation complex.

In the process, a rich inter-island history between Turks Islands and Bermuda is revealed that raises a question about transplantation between colonial societies. This thesis finds that while Turks Islands were, in many ways, an extension of Bermuda’s maritime economy, salt’s materiality and its saline environment also spoke with its own vernacular. This shaped an unusual trajectory for Turks Islands, as they were drawn away from the margins and into the British Atlantic world.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain F History United States, Canada, Latin America > F1201 Latin America (General) H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor J Political Science > JV Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Salt industry and trade -- Bermuda Islands, Salt industry and trade -- Turks and Caicos Islands, Great Britain -- Colonies -- History, Bermuda Islands -- History, Turks and Caicos Islands -- History
Official Date:	July 2019
Dates:	Date Event July 2019 UNSPECIFIED
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Lambert, David, 1976-
Sponsors:	University of Warwick. Yesu Persaud Centre for Caribbean Studies ; University of Warwick. Collaborative Postgraduate Research Scholarship, University of Warwick. Gad Heuman Postgraduate Bursary
Format of File:	pdf
Extent:	vii, 297 leaves : illustrations, maps
Language:	eng

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