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The Migration of Peoples from the Caribbean to the Bahamas
"Creatively drawing on documentary sources and oral histories, Tinker offers invaluable insights into the social, political, and economic forces that have helped shape the history of West Indian migrations to the Bahamas—a country that has often been overlooked in Caribbean migration studies."—Frederick H. Smith, author of Caribbean Rum
Although the Bahamas is geographically part of the West Indies, its population has consistently rejected attempts to link Bahamian national identity to the histories of its poorer Caribbean neighbors. The result of this attitude has been that the impact of Barbadians, Guyanese, Haitians, Jamaicans, and Turks and Caicos islanders living in the Bahamas has remained virtually unstudied.
In this timely volume, Keith Tinker explores the flow of peoples to and from the Bahamas and assesses the impact of various migrant groups on the character of the islands’ society and identity. He analyzes the phenomenon of "West Indian elitism" and reveals an intriguing picture of how immigrants—both documented and undocumented—have shaped the Bahamas from the pre-Columbian period to the present.
The result is the most complete and comprehensive study of migration to the Bahamas, a work that reminds us that Caribbean migration is about more than just the people who leave the islands for the continents of North America and Europe.
Makes a significant contribution to Bahamian historiography on migration by extending the discussion on patterns of West Indian migration to the Bahamas.’—Florida Historical Quarterly
Shows the historical depth of these connections as well as the circumstances and implications of migration into the later 20th century, thereby setting the stage for contemporary understandings of regional and national identities.’—African Diaspora Archaeology Newsletter
Spotlights the islands’ aboriginal inhabitants, their destruction at the hands of Spanish explorers, how loyalist Americans helped shape the Bahamian nation-state, and the even more consequential implications of British rule. . . . Argues for an evolving Bahamian identity that is shifting from notions of superiority to an embrace of its West Indian immigrant roots. . . . Highly recommended.’—Choice
A remarkably insightful exploration of a history of colonially encouraged distrust and politically motivated uneven development.’—Caribbean Quarterly
Keith L. Tinker, a native Bahamian, is director of the National Museum of the Bahamas and adjunct professor of Caribbean history at the College of the Bahamas.
