The History of Jamaica

Edward Long''S Three-Volume Work Marks A Major Turning Point In The Historiography Of Jamaica As The First Attempt At A Comprehensive Description Of The Colony Its History Government People Economy And Geography. The Son Of A Prominent Jamaican Plantation Owner Long (17341813) Spent Twelve Years Running His Father''S Property An Experience Which Permeates His Vision Of The Island''S Past Present And Future. Long Defends Slavery As ''Inevitably Necessary'' In Jamaica Suggesting The Institution To Be Implicit In The ''Possession Of British Freedom''. Volume 3 Covers The Natural History Of Jamaica Including Descriptions Of Weather Phenomena And A Catalogue Of Native Flora Of Potential Interest To British Importers. It Also Includes A Translation Of The French ''Code Noir'' Governing Slavery Proposed As A Model For Future British Legislation. This Important 1774 Book Provides Fascinating Insights Into Eighteenth-Century Colonial Jamaica And The Ideology Of Its Commercial And Administrative Elite.