(REPOST from Year 2012) New Book Published on Garifunas Original Fight for Freedom on St Vincent Island by Journalist Christopher Taylor
“The Black Carib Wars: Freedom Survival and the Making of The Garifuna”
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Originally published on July 4th 2012
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Copyright 2012 by Teofilo Colon Jr (a.k.a. “Tio Teo” or “T.O. Tayo”) for Being Garifuna. All Rights Reserved. Contact Tio Teo.
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London, United Kingdom — While we here in America are commemorating the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, a document which declared independence from The Kingdom of Great Britain in 1776.
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London citizens are not only making final preparations for the 2012 Summer Olympics, but from that land comes the publication of a book covering a unique period in English / Caribbean relations in the 18th century.
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A period of time marked by resistance, struggle, tragedy and ultimately the dawning of a distinct ethnic group noted for their opposition to British Imperialism.
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Entitled, “The Black Carib Wars: Freedom, Survival and The Making of The Garifuna” by Author and Journalist Christopher Taylor, this 256 page book promises to shed new light on this troubling time and hopefully add to what is currently known about Garifuna history.
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According to the press release, this book by writer and journalist Christopher Taylor (The Guardian Newspaper in London) is the product of extensive original research in St. Vincent, the United Kingdom and France.
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That research resulted in a compelling narrative with new details of the Garifuna (then known as Black Caribs) fight to stay free on the site of their ancestral homeland, St. Vincent.
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While I only know of Joseph Chatoyer and DuValle, there is mention of other Black Carib leaders such as Tourouya and Bigot in this new book.
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In all, the book claims to look at who the Black Caribs were, why they were so unyielding in battle, and details how they managed to organize a fiercely independent society against the external threat as represented by Britain (and sometimes, France).
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A profile of the book on the amazon.com website features a Look Inside section, where interested readers can read select pages from the book and see that the book opens with a detailed description of a Delegation of Garifunas from The Garifuna Coalition making a trip to the ancestral homeland of the Garifuna people, St. Vincent (a rare occurance) in 2009.
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The Introductory chapter then goes on to introduce the reader as to the whos and whats of the Garifuna people.
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I have not read this book as of yet and anxiously await it’s publication in August of 2012. The frustrating factor for those interested in this period in history is the unavailability of books that cover this period in history. The few books on the matter are either out-of-print or very hard to find. Books like:
- “The Rise and Fall of The Black Charaibs” — by I. E. Kirby and C. I. Martin
- “An Account of the Black Charaibs in the Island of St. Vincent’s” – by Sir William Young
- “The Garifuna Story – Now and Then” — by Justin M. Flores (“Don Justo”)
- “Luragate Garifuna Yurumaigien 1635 – 1797″ (“Garifuna Ethnohistory in St. Vincent from 1635 to 1797″ — by Salvador Suazo
- “Yurumeingien Daga Rubadan”, by Salvador Suazo
- “Sojourners of The Caribbean: Ethnogenesis and Ethnohistory of the Garifuna” – by Nancie L. Gonzalez (I own a copy of this book).
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So for me, it sure will be interesting to see if The Black Carib Wars book by Christopher Taylor proves to be a light that peers into the haze of that period of Garifuna history.
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Mr. Christopher Taylor also wrote the book, “The Beautiful Game: A Journey Through Latin American Football” in 1998.
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The Black Carib Wars: Freedom, Survival and The Making of The Garifuna — by Christopher Taylor
ISBN: 978-1-908493040
Price: 12.99 pounds (United Kingdom Denomination)
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