Fighting Slavery in the Caribbean

Fighting Slavery in the Caribbean is a social history of mid-nineteenth century Cuba as experienced by George Backhouse (and his wife, Grace), who served on the Anglo-Spanish Havana Mixed Commission for the Suppression of the Slave Trade. Through richly textured prose, enlivened with extracts from the Backhouses' correspondence, diaries, and other contemporary papers, Martinez-Fernandez paints a detailed picture of the Cuban slave trade, its role in the sugar industry, and the interrelated contradictions within Cuba's economy, society, and politics. The Backhouse story provides insights into important aspects of life in the "male" city of Havana, social antagonisms between Britons and North Americans, interactions within European social circles, religious tension, gender relations, and the reality of tropical disease. High drama is added to the narrative in the author's description of the tragic and mysterious murder of George Backhouse in August 1855, possibly the result of a slave traders' conspiracy.