About this item
Ever since Christopher Columbus stepped off the Santa Maria onto what is today San Salvador, in the Bahamas, and announced that he had arrived in the Orient, the Caribbean has been a stage for projected fantasies and competition between world powers. In Empire's Crossroads, British American historian Carrie Gibson traces the story of this coveted area from the northern rim of South America up to Cuba, and from discovery through colonialism to today, offering a vivid, panoramic view of this complex region and its rich, important history.After that fateful landing in 1492, the British, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, and even the Swedes, Scots, and Germans sought their fortunes in the islands for the next two centuries. Some failed spectacularly: a poorly executed settlement in Panama led the Scots to lose their own independence to England.
About the Author
Carrie Gibson was born in the US but has lived in the UK for the past two decades. After a career in journalism, mostly spent at the Guardian newspaper in London, she completed a PhD in history at Cambridge in 2010, focussing on the Hispanic Caribbean islands of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) during the Haitian Revolution. Her love of the Caribbean led her to write Empire's Crossroads: A History of the Caribbean from Columbus to the Present Day, which was published in 2014. In her latest book, El Norte: The Epic and Forgotten Story of Hispanic North America, she returns to the United States and examines its complex relationship with its Spanish-speaking neighbours. Carrie lives in London and continues to contribute to media outlets, including the Observer (UK) , the BBC, and Vox, among others. More at carriegibson.co.uk
