Colonizing Paradise: Landscape and Empire in the British West Indies

260 Pages·2015·2.74 MB·English

by  Jefferson Dillman Ph.D.

COLONIZING
PARADISE
ATLANTIC CROSSINGS
Rafe Blaufarb, Series Editor
COLONIZING
PARADISE
L e
andscape and mpire
B W i
in the ritish est ndies
JEFFERSON DILLMAN
THE UNIVERSITY OF ALA BAMA PRESS
Tuscaloosa
The University of Ala bama Press
Tuscaloosa, Ala bama 35487- 0380
uapress.ua.edu
Copyright © 2015 by the University of Ala bama Press
All rights reserved.
Inquiries about reproducing material from this work should be addressed to the
University of Ala bama Press.
Typeface: Granjon and Scala
Manufactured in the United States of America
Cover illustration: James Hakewill, St. Thomas in the Vale (Jamaica, 1825)
Cover design: Michele Myatt Quinn
∞
The paper on which this book is printed meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48- 1984.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Dillman, Jefferson, 1969–
Colonizing paradise : landscape and empire in the British West Indies / Jefferson
Dillman.
pages cm. — (Atlantic crossings)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8173-1858-1 (hardback : alkaline paper) — ISBN 978-0-8173-8804-1
(ebook) 1. West Indies, British—Colonization—Social aspects. 2. West Indies,
British—Foreign public opinion, British. 3. Landscapes—Social aspects—West Indies,
British—History. 4. Landscapes—Political aspects—West Indies, British—History.
5. Landscapes—West Indies, British—Psychological aspects—History. 6. British—West
Indies, British—Attitudes—History. 7. Imperialism—Social aspects—West Indies,
British—History. 8. West Indies, British—Relations—Great Britain. 9. Great Britain—
Relations—West Indies, British. 10. Public opinion—Great Britain—History. I. Title.
F1621.D55 2015
327.410729—dc23
2014040797
Contents
List of Figures vii
Introduction 1
1. The Discovered Landscape: Iberians in the New World 11
2. The Colonial Paradise: English Encounters with the New World 38
3. The Lawless Landscape: Early English Colonial Experiences 67
4. The Recovered Landscape: Cataloging and Ordering
the British West Indies 106
5. The Rural Landscape: The Pastoral, Picturesque, and Tropi cal 137
The Tropics: An Epilogue 174
Notes 187
Bibliography 225
Index 245

Figures
1. James Moxon, A New Mapp of Jamaica, According to the Last Survey
(Lon don, 1677) 92
2. Edward Slaney, Tabula Iamaicae Insulae (Lon don, 1678) 93
3. Inset of Slaney’s map, showing the privateer quarters and a location
labeled “Banditi” (Lon don, 1678) 94
4. Lansdowne Guilding, View of the Botanic Garden
St. Vincent (1824) 125
5. Lansdowne Guilding, Botanic Garden from the Bottom of the
Central Walk (St. Vincent, 1824) 126
6. Lansdowne Guilding, House of the Superintendant
(St. Vincent, 1824) 126
7. Agostino Brunias, A Negroe’s Dance, Dominica (1779) 156
8. Agostino Brunias, The Linen Market, Santo Domingo (ca. 1775) 157
9. George Robertson, View of Roaring River Estate (Jamaica, 1778) 167
10. James Hakewill, St. Thomas in the Vale (Jamaica, 1825) 180

COLONIZING
PARADISE