Reproducing the British Caribbean: Sex, Gender, and Population

Reproducing the British Caribbean: Sex, Gender, and Population Politics after Slavery

This innovative book traces the history of ideas and policymaking concerning population growth and infant and maternal welfare in Caribbean colonies wrestling with the aftermath of slavery. Focusing on Jamaica, Guyana, and Barbados from the nineteenth century through the 1930s, when violent labor protests swept the region, Juanita De Barros takes a comparative approach in analyzing the struggles among former slaves and masters attempting to determine the course of their societies after emancipation.

Invested in the success of the "great experiment" of slave emancipation, colonial officials developed new social welfare and health policies. Concerns about the health and size of ex-slave populations were expressed throughout the colonial world during this period. In the Caribbean, an emergent black middle class, rapidly increasing immigration, and new attitudes toward medicine and society were crucial factors. While hemispheric and diasporic trends influenced the new policies, De Barros shows that local physicians, philanthropists, midwives, and the impoverished mothers who were the targets of this official concern helped shape and implement efforts to ensure the health and reproduction of Caribbean populations in the decades before independence.
Country USA
Manufacturer The University of North Carolina Press
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2014-08-04
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	The University of North Carolina Press
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2014-08-04
Format	Kindle eBook

Reproducing the British Caribbean: Sex, Gender, and Population Politics after Slavery