RELEASE DATE: MAY 10, 2020
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
David Dobson is widely known for his many publications concerning the field of Scottish genealogy. In his latest book, David Dobson tackles a new subject, THE PEOPLE OF BARBADOS, 1625-1875.
The most easterly of the many islands in the Caribbean, Barbados was bypassed for settlement by the Spanish and Portuguese in the sixteenth century because it lacked the gold and silver they were seeking. Slave-raiding missions by the Spanish decimated the indigenous inhabitants by selling them elsewhere or causing them to flee to other islands. In 1625, Captain John Powell claimed Barbados for England and the first shipload of English settlers arrived two years later.
Ideal for growing tobacco, sugar, and cotton, Barbados soon attracted entrepreneurs who aimed to produce those crops and market them in England, and to some extent, on the European continent. These planters and merchants brought with them skilled artisans, many of whom arrived as indentured servants. In addition, the government sent some rebels and criminals in chains to be sold on the island. Because white Europeans were unwilling to perform hard labor on the tropical plantations, slaves from Africa were soon brought to the island.
Most of the white settlers came from England and Wales. A minority came from Ireland and Scotland. (Dobson has already treated the Scots in his book, BARBADOS AND SCOTLAND, 1627-1877, published in 2005.) A considerable number of Sephardic Jews also settled there to avoid persecution during the Spanish Inquisition.
By the early eighteenth century, the productive lands were fully occupied and the population was increasing. Due to those circumstances, a significant amount of people began migrating from Barbados to various other Caribbean islands and South Carolina, where plantation economies were rapidly expanding. As a result, planters, merchants, indentured servants, and African slaves became “two-stage” migrants within the Americas.
Following his usual format, Dobson lists the names of the principal individuals alphabetically. The amount of information about each person varies, but most entries provide the man or woman's name, a location (place of birth or residence, for instance), a date (year of birth or emigation, for example), and the source of the data. In some cases, additional details may include occupation, military rank or service, the name of a parent or spouse, date of death, place of death, the name of the vessel on which he or she sailed to America, and date of arrival and place of settlement in the New World.
Based on research in manuscript and published sources in Great Britain and Barbados, Dobson identifies numerous non-Scottish residents of the island nation in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. THE PEOPLE OF BARBADOS, 1625-1875 is a welcomed addition to the oft-ignored aspect of immigration and settlement ties between the Caribbean islands and the North American mainland.
The 143-page paperback has an introduction, a map of the island, several illustrations, a list of ships that sailed to the island and the names of their masters, a glossary of various types of ships, and a key to the resources used to compile the book. The entries arrange the names of the main individuals alphabetically. Unfortunately, the names of other people, like as a spouse or parent, in the entries are not cross-referenced. An index to the additional names would be helpful so genealogists will not overlook important ties or clues.
To the book's price of $22.50, buyers should add the cost for postage and handling charges. For U. S. postal mail, the cost is $5.50 for one book and $2.50 for each additional copy; for UPS, the cost is $7.50 for one copy and $2.50 for each additional book. The volume (item order #8712) may be purchased by check, MasterCard, or Visa from Clearfield Company, 3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 260, Baltimore, Maryland 21211 (for phone orders, call toll free 1-800-296-6687; fax 1-410-752-8492; website www.genealogical.com).