How the Fugitives of Dominica Changed the British Empire: Toward a Caribbean History for the Caribbean

Inaugural lecture by Professor Gunvor Simonsen, Saxo Institute.

Is there a history of the Caribbean for the Caribbean? A history that begins with the Caribbean and ends there as well. This is not a rhetorical question when posed for a region born in the crucible of globalization, shaped for centuries by its ties to other continents. Approached through colonial and post-colonial history, the Caribbean often fragments into single islands and their ties to metropolitan centers. Approached as a key site in the Atlantic world, the region also risks appearing as removed from itself, shaped by long-distance ties to European states and African homelands. In this inaugural lecture, I turn to the fugitive world of Dominica and its neighboring islands, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante, and Les Saintes, and show that this world – its people, sea lanes, watercraft, and mountain villages – had the institutional force to change the policies of the British Empire. It is a story that demonstrates how to center the Caribbean and its people in the histories of its making.

After the lecture you are invited to a reception at the Saxo-Institute (lunchroom)

Sign up for the reception by 7 September.