Date: 2017
Type: Thesis
The West Indian web : improvising colonial survival in Essequibo and Demerara, 1750-1800
Florence : European University Institute, 2017, EUI, HEC, PhD Thesis
HOONHOUT, Bram Michael, The West Indian web : improvising colonial survival in Essequibo and Demerara, 1750-1800, Florence : European University Institute, 2017, EUI, HEC, PhD Thesis - https://hdl.handle.net/1814/45449
Retrieved from Cadmus, EUI Research Repository
When, in 1796, the British invasion fleet approached the Demerara River, its commanders were in for an unpleasant surprise. The expedition, arriving from Barbados with some 1,300 men, aimed to take possession of the Dutch colonies of Essequibo and Demerara on the Guiana coast of South America. Theoretically the British came to offer “protection” to the colonies in the name of the Dutch Stadtholder, in practice they were also keen on taking these lucrative colonies for themselves. The Dutch colonies of Essequibo and especially Demerara already had a high percentage of British planters, and their fertile soils carried the promise of great riches. The coffee, sugar and cotton planters could fuel the unfolding Industrial Revolution in Britain with the raw material for its machines and the consumer goods for its workforce.
Additional information:
Defence date: 22 February 2017; Examining Board: Professor Jorge Flores, European University Institute; Professor Regina Grafe European University Institute; Professor Cátia Antunes European University Institute; Professor Gert Oostindie, KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies
Cadmus permanent link: https://hdl.handle.net/1814/45449
Full-text via DOI: 10.2870/329011
Series/Number: EUI; HEC; PhD Thesis
Publisher: European University Institute
LC Subject Heading: Essequibo -- History; Demerara -- History; Guiana -- History; Great Britain -- Colonies -- West Indies, British; West Indies, British -- Commerce -- History -- 18th century; West Indies, British -- History -- 18th century; Atlantic Ocean Region -- History -- 18th century
Preceding version: http://hdl.handle.net/1814/45530; http://hdl.handle.net/1814/45529
Version: Thesis chapter 4 'The commercial web : mercantilism, cash crops and captives as contraband' was previously published as and article in Tijdschrift voor Zeegeschiedenis (2013) and as a chapter in the book 'Beyond empires : global, self-organizing, cross-imperial networks, 1500-1800' (2016)
