Verene Shepherd

Livestock, Sugar and Slavery: Contested Terrain in Colonial Jamaica Verene Shepherd

Livestock, Sugar and Slavery examines the evolution and expansion of the pen-keeping industry, the role and status of the pen-keepers and the experiences of the enslaved labourers on pens, a virtually unexplored area of Caribbean history. It argues that the relationship between those who raised livestock and those who grew sugar cane, while symbiotic in one sense, was also conflict-ridden in another. There were contests between sugar proprietors and pen-keepers over land, boundaries, enslaved labourers, and social and political status, demonstrating that the ranking game was intensely practised in the age of modernity. Complete with copious notes and an extensive bibliography, Livestock, Sugar and Slavery provides a comprehensive source material for students and academics interested in colonial Jamaica.