Buy new:
-20% $23.99
FREE delivery Thursday, May 16 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$23.99 with 20 percent savings
List Price: $29.95

The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. Except for books, Amazon will display a List Price if the product was purchased by customers on Amazon or offered by other retailers at or above the List Price in at least the past 90 days. List prices may not necessarily reflect the product's prevailing market price.
Learn more
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Thursday, May 16 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Wednesday, May 15. Order within 2 hrs 13 mins
Only 14 left in stock - order soon.
$$23.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$23.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day easy returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$20.54
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Clean with no markings. Ships direct from Amazon! Clean with no markings. Ships direct from Amazon! See less
FREE delivery Tuesday, May 21 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Wednesday, May 15. Order within 17 hrs 13 mins
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$23.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$23.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Amazon book clubs early access
Loading your book clubs
There was a problem loading your book clubs. Please try again.
Not in a club? Learn more
Amazon book clubs early access

Join or create book clubs

Choose books together

Track your books
Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free.
Explore Amazon Book Clubs
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Frederick H. Smith
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Caribbean Rum: A Social and Economic History Paperback – Illustrated, November 6, 2008

4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 35 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$23.99","priceAmount":23.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"23","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"Ma%2BRHjEecIz17oq%2Fah5G19pMNA7JGkfp06w2wm%2FjfCjstdyCYsvGIfo6azCVltWQ5tH7FUA7%2BIAeVMac3sUz2FK0N4PC2j8dcslVHqVq1UEFoRGPCeWDboadAGJ2Ffg7FPfGomk%2FaCw%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$20.54","priceAmount":20.54,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"20","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"54","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"Ma%2BRHjEecIz17oq%2Fah5G19pMNA7JGkfp9tSRpl%2FTd8aluO5sgHclJ0Q3yuNZMgbTMQV9cw5UoYgrHXznoA8IOZ0ox6Ba%2FBel%2BLNEoOuLuaflAqXF%2BQgBYgOYF1HpXWHVNxwkiWSrgOFpJWTM52UUvVp5AaUYG%2FG97iX2%2BrqCCM2OK9hztD3rQg%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

"The most significant contribution to the history of Caribbean rum since John McCusker's Rum and the American Revolution. . . . It adds significantly to McCusker’s work by analyzing the Caribbean environment in greater depth and by bringing the story forward by two centuries."--Anthony P. Maingot, Florida International University

Christopher Columbus brought sugarcane to the New World on his second voyage. By 1520 commercial sugar production was underway in the Caribbean, along with the perfection of methods to ferment and distill alcohol from sugarcane to produce a new beverage that would have dramatic impact on the region. Caribbean Rum presents the fascinating cultural, economic, and ethnographic history of rum in the Caribbean from the colonial period to the present.

Drawing on data from historical archaeology and the economic history of the Caribbean, Frederick Smith explains why this industry arose in the islands, how attitudes toward alcohol consumption have impacted the people of the region, and how rum production evolved over 400 years from a small colonial activity to a multi-billion-dollar industry controlled by multinational corporations. He investigates the economic impact of Caribbean rum on many scales, including rum's contribution to sugarcane plantation revenues, its role in bolstering colonial and postcolonial economies, and its impact on Atlantic trade. Smith discusses the political and economic trends that determined the value of rum, especially war, competition from other alcohol industries, slavery and emancipation, temperance movements, and globalization.

 The book also examines the social and sacred uses of rum and identifies the forces that shaped alcohol use in the Caribbean. It shows how levels of drinking and drunken deportment reflected underlying social tensions, which were driven by the coercive exploitation of labor and set within a highly contentious hierarchy based on class, race, gender, religion, and ethnic identity, and how these tensions were magnified by epidemic disease, poor living conditions, natural disasters, international conflicts, and unstable food supplies.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    360 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    University Press of Florida
  4. Publication date
    November 6, 2008
  5. Dimensions
    6.13 x 0.88 x 9.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0813033152
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0813033150
  8. See all details
Next page
Books with Buzz
Books with Buzz
Discover the latest buzz-worthy books, from mysteries and romance to humor and nonfiction. Explore more

Frequently bought together

Caribbean Rum: A Social and Economic History
$23.99
Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16
Only 14 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
Rum: The Manual
$12.99
Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16
In Stock
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
+
And a Bottle of Rum, Revised and Updated: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails
$13.12
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Sold by Minnoshouse and ships from Amazon Fulfillment.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Frederick H. Smith, assistant professor of anthropology at the College of William and Mary.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University Press of Florida (November 6, 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 360 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0813033152
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0813033150
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.24 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.13 x 0.88 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 35 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Frederick H. Smith

Frederick H. Smith

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
35 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

george freegard
5.0 out of 5 stars Very interesting perspective
Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2014
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed reading this historic overview of the rum history and social history of the Caribbean. It was useful for learning the terminology and background. Well written and referenced, I found it a great book for reading during my travels.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Somebody
5.0 out of 5 stars he loved it. It talks about the history of the ...
Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2016
Verified Purchase
Bought it for my dad, he loved it. It talks about the history of the environment and economy surrounding the rum world, all things rum.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Joao Azevedo Fernandes
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2010
Verified Purchase
A work that epoch, when addressing a topic that is little appreciated by many historians, and offer a model for addressing the same theme in other regions and other alcoholic beverages
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Luis K. Ayala
5.0 out of 5 stars An outstanding book about the societal impact of rum
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2009
Over the past couple of decades I have read and studied most rum books available in the market. I can honestly say that this is the first book in a very long time to contribute new knowledge to the industry. Rather than following the true-and-tried formula of including a bit of history, overview of some rum companies and their products and offering a plethora of rum cocktail recipes, this book focuses exclusively on the social and economic impact of rum, from the slave plantations to modern society.

I was impressed by the level of research performed by the author to document the stress-relieving effect of rum on slaves (their owners would often make rum available to the slaves and would encourage them to drink it in order to give them frequent escapes from reality), the ratios of rum production to rum consumptions per country in the Caribbean through the years, the social acceptance of drunkenness and its relationship to violence, etc.

Another area of the book that I was very impressed by, is the section devoted to describing the emergence of the rum economy, the threat it posed on European alcohol industries and the subsequent legislations that were put in place in an attempt to control the proliferation of rum.

All in all, this book is full of interesting facts and tables, all pearls of information for the true rum aficionado. Those seeking colorful pictures of ornate cocktails with palm trees on the background will be disappointed, but then again, there is a plethora of books to satisfy those consumers. This book is well researched, well written and I'm certain will be quoted by many future works on rum.

Luis Ayala
Author and Rum Consultant
Rum Runner Press, Inc.
16 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Eva Ceresnakova
4.0 out of 5 stars Depends on what you are looking for. This book is very well written study!
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2015
Verified Purchase
Depends on what you are expecting. If pictures and trendy book, don't go for it. If a lot of information and serious study, go for it. I am satisfied as there are information I had been looking for. Well written
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
WHD
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2015
Verified Purchase
Good but lengthy!
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
Valentina
5.0 out of 5 stars bellissimo
Reviewed in Italy on April 23, 2019
Verified Purchase
un libro davvero interessante e molto piacevole da leggere lo consiglio a tutti
Report