The Letter Book of Charles Winstone of Dominica, 1767-1784: A West Indian Planter during the American Revolution [Hardcover]

Charles Winstone's letter book offers a rich first-hand account of Caribbean history during the American Revolution, the French invasion, and the occupation of Dominica.

The American Revolution and French presence disrupted the island's economic life. As Dominica's former solicitor and attorney general, Winstone became a central figure to absentee planters and British firms protecting estates and investments. His letters reveal efforts to forge new trading networks through the Dutch West Indies as he worked for British absentees based elsewhere in the Caribbean and Europe. The correspondence also reflects his struggle to establish a West Indian fortune on the backs of enslaved people cultivating coffee and sugar. His letters provide a rare look at the world of a plantation attorney and manager as he oversaw several estates near the colonial capital of Roseau during the most tumultuous years in Dominica's history and reflects on the ineffective and unprepared British response upon the outbreak of the American conflict, particularly noting French military preparations on the nearby islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe.

Charles Winstone's letter book offers a rich first-hand account of Caribbean history during the American Revolution, the French invasion, and the occupation of Dominica.Mark S. Quintanillais a historian of the Atlantic World and a two-time Fulbright Scholar. He holds dual appointments at Carson-Newman University and Liberty University.

This documentary collection of letters stemming from the official correspondence of a British colonial administrator provides valuable personal insights about the social, political and economic world of the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica, a territory that France ceded to England at the conclusion of the Seven Years' War, as seen from the writer's perspective as the territory's solicitor and later attorney general. TheLetter Book of Charles Winstone of Dominica, 1767:-1784shedlÃl