The Hanging of Arthur Hodge-A Caribbean Anti-Slavery Milestone - selected for the Best Non-Fiction Book Award by The Sacramento Publishers Association - is a study of slavery in the British West Indies during the half-century before Parliament´s 1834 decision to emancipate the slaves. Its focus is on the crimes, trial and execution of Arthur Hodge, a prominent Virgin Islands planter and politician whose unprecedented hanging for the murder of Prosper, one of his own slaves, was to rouse the British anti-slavery movement from the contentment it was enjoying following the abolition of the slave trade and help direct its efforts toward the ultimate emancipation of the slaves throughout the British Empire. The life, trial and execution of Arthur Hodge is a story of great interest in its own right, but that story is also important because it was truly a milestone on the road to the end of slavery in the British Empire.

Arthur Hodge was a dominant figure in the Virgin Islands in the early 1800s. Born in the islands, he studied at Oxford and later served in the British army. His wife was a sister-in-law of the Marquess of Exeter. He was described as a man of great accomplishments and elegant manners. But evidence presented during his trial revealed another side of his character. Between 1803 and 1808 Hodge had murdered as many as sixty - or one-half - of the slaves who labored on his Tortola plantation. They died by whipping, scalding and having boiling water poured down their throats.

Although Hodge´s treatment of his slaves was common knowledge, he was only brought to trial several years after the killings as a consequence of a political and personal dispute. Hodge was found guilty of murder by a local jury and - when the Governor of the Leeward Islands chose to ignore the jury´s recommendation of leniency -became the only slave owner in the history of the British West Indies to be executed for the murder of one of his own slaves.

Hodge´s character contrasted sharply with that of his chief prosecutor, Governor Hugh Elliot, a noted diplomat and a supporter of the anti-slavery forces in Great Britain whose brother, the Earl of Minto, was currently Viceroy of India and whose brother-in-law, Lord Auckland, had - four years before - carried the bill ending the slave trade in the House of Lords.

The hanging of Arthur Hodge caused a sensation and transcripts of his trial were published in both Great Britain and the United States. The news helped to revitalize the anti-slavery forces, playing an important role in the debates leading to the establishment of slave registries and the accountability they implied throughout the Caribbean colonies.

After a brief introduction which concludes with the language of the indictment issued against Hodge and his counsel´s response that "A Negro being property, it was no greater offense for his master to kill him than it would be to kill his dog," the book opens with a short history of the settlement of the Virgin Islands and descriptions - from contemporary sources - of the lives of plantation owners and of their slaves. Included are personal descriptions of enslavement in Africa, the Middle Passage, the work and recreation of the slaves, their religious beliefs and the brutalities which some of them endured. The following chapters contain biographies of Hodge and Elliot and a recapitulation of the events which led to Hodges indictment and trial. Original transcripts and reports were used as the basis for the report of the trial and execution. The book concludes with a discussion of the effects of the Hodge affair on the anti-slavery movement and capsule descriptions of the subsequent careers some of those involved. (Governor Elliot later served in India as Governor of Madras and is buried in Westminster Abbey).

The work is based upon original and other contemporary sources, including both the published and official manuscript transcripts of Hodge´s trial and Governor Elliot´s official and private correspondence. It offers the reader firsthand insight into events which deserve to be much better known than they are today.

The Hanging of Arthur Hodge-A Caribbean Anti-Slavery Milestone - selected for the Best Non-Fiction Book Award by The Sacramento Publishers Association - is a study of slavery in the British West Indies during the half-century before Parliament´s 1834 decision to emancipate the slaves. Its focus is on the crimes, trial and execution of Arthur Hodge, a prominent Virgin Islands planter and politician whose unprecedented hanging for the murder of Prosper, one of his own slaves, was to rouse the British anti-slavery movement from the contentment it was enjoying following the abolition of the slave trade and help direct its efforts toward the ultimate emancipation of the slaves throughout the British Empire. The life, trial and execution of Arthur Hodge is a story of great interest in its own right, but that story is also important because it was truly a milestone on the road to the end of slavery in the British Empire.

Arthur Hodge was a dominant figure in the Virgin Islands in the early 1800s. Born in the islands, he studied at Oxford and later served in the British army. His wife was a sister-in-law of the Marquess of Exeter. He was described as a man of great accomplishments and elegant manners. But evidence presented during his trial revealed another side of his character. Between 1803 and 1808 Hodge had murdered as many as sixty - or one-half - of the slaves who labored on his Tortola plantation. They died by whipping, scalding and having boiling water poured down their throats.

Although Hodge´s treatment of his slaves was common knowledge, he was only brought to trial several years after the killings as a consequence of a political and personal dispute. Hodge was found guilty of murder by a local jury and - when the Governor of the Leeward Islands chose to ignore the jury´s recommendation of leniency -became the only slave owner in the history of the British West Indies to be executed for the murder of one of his own slaves.

Hodge´s character contrasted sharply with that of his chief prosecutor, Governor Hugh Elliot, a noted diplomat and a supporter of the anti-slavery forces in Great Britain whose brother, the Earl of Minto, was currently Viceroy of India and whose brother-in-law, Lord Auckland, had - four years before - carried the bill ending the slave trade in the House of Lords.

The hanging of Arthur Hodge caused a sensation and transcripts of his trial were published in both Great Britain and the United States. The news helped to revitalize the anti-slavery forces, playing an important role in the debates leading to the establishment of slave registries and the accountability they implied throughout the Caribbean colonies.

After a brief introduction which concludes with the language of the indictment issued against Hodge and his counsel´s response that "A Negro being property, it was no greater offense for his master to kill him than it would be to kill his dog," the book opens with a short history of the settlement of the Virgin Islands and descriptions - from contemporary sources - of the lives of plantation owners and of their slaves. Included are personal descriptions of enslavement in Africa, the Middle Passage, the work and recreation of the slaves, their religious beliefs and the brutalities which some of them endured. The following chapters contain biographies of Hodge and Elliot and a recapitulation of the events which led to Hodges indictment and trial. Original transcripts and reports were used as the basis for the report of the trial and execution. The book concludes with a discussion of the effects of the Hodge affair on the anti-slavery movement and capsule descriptions of the subsequent careers some of those involved. (Governor Elliot later served in India as Governor of Madras and is buried in Westminster Abbey).

The work is based upon original and other contemporary sources, including both the published and official manuscript transcripts of Hodge´s trial and Governor Elliot´s official and private correspondence. It offers the reader firsthand insight into events which deserve to be much better known than they are today.

Haitian Recollections and Haitian Returns is my gift to the Haitian people. The gift comes in two parts. The recollections part, is my sharing with the Haitians a piece of their history; which is relatively unknown to most people alive, today. It describes in words from my personal experience in Haiti as a boy in the early 1940s, coupled with many photos from my mother’s album how things were at that time. It was a very unique period, characterized by positive collaboration between Haiti and the United States—then it came to a tragic end! The details about this have never been clearly told nor seen before.The returns part of the book is about my going back to Haiti to teach the children reforestation—and return to where I lived 65 years ago. It is about what I have learned, saw and did that the reader should think about when hearing news of Haiti. This book reflects how Haiti and its people have returned so much to me over my entire lifetime. A specific program is presented for approaching the solution to Haiti’s reforestation challenges. It directly involves all the children in Haiti, can start now and can be sustained indefinitely. My own collection of recent pictures are used in this part to show how some things change in Haiti, but also, how many things take a very, very long time. Hope is there for Haiti and we all can assist them if we help them do what they wish and need. However, the Haitians must be actively engaged in anything others do, in order to take their country back from a devastating 500 year-long attack on their natural environment. We and they need to persist, but also, tenancy is required over a long period of time—200 to 300 years. By doing this, Haiti “returns” to all of us in immeasurable ways.

Haitian Recollections and Haitian Returns is my gift to the Haitian people. The gift comes in two parts. The recollections part, is my sharing with the Haitians a piece of their history; which is relatively unknown to most people alive, today. It describes in words from my personal experience in Haiti as a boy in the early 1940s, coupled with many photos from my mother’s album how things were at that time. It was a very unique period, characterized by positive collaboration between Haiti and the United States—then it came to a tragic end! The details about this have never been clearly told nor seen before.The returns part of the book is about my going back to Haiti to teach the children reforestation—and return to where I lived 65 years ago. It is about what I have learned, saw and did that the reader should think about when hearing news of Haiti. This book reflects how Haiti and its people have returned so much to me over my entire lifetime. A specific program is presented for approaching the solution to Haiti’s reforestation challenges. It directly involves all the children in Haiti, can start now and can be sustained indefinitely. My own collection of recent pictures are used in this part to show how some things change in Haiti, but also, how many things take a very, very long time. Hope is there for Haiti and we all can assist them if we help them do what they wish and need. However, the Haitians must be actively engaged in anything others do, in order to take their country back from a devastating 500 year-long attack on their natural environment. We and they need to persist, but also, tenancy is required over a long period of time—200 to 300 years. By doing this, Haiti “returns” to all of us in immeasurable ways.

Ruth C. Stuhl and George M. Chevalier were born and raised in the Canal Zone where their father was employed by the Municipal Engineering Division. From early childhood they have been actively interested in all aspects of Isthmian History and have spent a life time exploring historical sites and searching for relics of the past. These stories were collected over many years from material written mostly during the nineteenth century and reflect the frank views and experiences of those travellers in crossing the Isthmus of Panama.

To better understand these travels my sister Ruth and I sought to duplicate these journeys where ever possible as time permitted in our lives. In some areas these ventures were more difficult than when done in years gone by. But always there was an eerie feeling that we were not alone as we labored along those now silent trails. In June 1975, Ruth died of a massive heart attack while trying to cross over the Camino Real, in the upper mountain area, to Porto Bello.

What we experienced in our hikes gave us a deep appreciation for what those early travellers accomplished and I hope these stories bring others a feel for those adventurous days as you too cross the Isthmus of Panama.

Tourism has been the vehicle which has enabled The Bahamas to make the transition from a simple economy based on fishing, privateering and a failing sponge industry, to a sophisticated modern economy. Tourism, accounting for as much as 70% of national income, 50% of total employment and 40% of government revenue, is the bedrock of the Bahamas economy. For five decades, The Bahamas has been the regional model in tourism.

This publication attempts to trace the development of tourism from the arrival of the first visitor, Christopher Columbus, in 1492 up to the beginning of the 21st century. The story of Bahamas tourism is presented against the background of world tourism and regional trends. It highlights the marketing and product initiatives of outstanding visionaries who have led the industry since the establishment of the Bahamas Development Board and the Ministry of Tourism. It also discusses the outlook and challenges facing the region in the next decade as well as the socio-economic impact of tourism on the local community, including some of the negative impacts suffered in the Bahamas as a result of the concentration on tourism as the main industry. Comprising 12 chapters and 12 appendices with comprehensive statistics as well as a Glossary of Travel Terms, it is the most complete documentation of Bahamas Tourism ever written. It is illustrated with over 300 photographs. It is no doubt the most authoritative publication of its kind.

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“Mrs. Cleare has chronicled with details the effect on the Bahamian community of the income from tourism which over the years has become the major industry of The Bahamas, and has from being viewed with skepticism by the greater Caribbean been embraced with regional enthusiasm.

A unique feature of the History of Tourism is Ms. Cleare’s list of those whom she calls Tourism Giants and Stalwarts of the Twentieth Century, who contributed to the place which the industry holds in the economy, its social life and its politics. Mrs. Cleare has made a major contribution to the History of The Bahamas for which we all should thank her.”

-Hon. Paul L. Adderley-

Tourism has been the vehicle which has enabled The Bahamas to make the transition from a simple economy based on fishing, privateering and a failing sponge industry, to a sophisticated modern economy. Tourism, accounting for as much as 70% of national income, 50% of total employment and 40% of government revenue, is the bedrock of the Bahamas economy. For five decades, The Bahamas has been the regional model in tourism.

This publication attempts to trace the development of tourism from the arrival of the first visitor, Christopher Columbus, in 1492 up to the beginning of the 21st century. The story of Bahamas tourism is presented against the background of world tourism and regional trends. It highlights the marketing and product initiatives of outstanding visionaries who have led the industry since the establishment of the Bahamas Development Board and the Ministry of Tourism. It also discusses the outlook and challenges facing the region in the next decade as well as the socio-economic impact of tourism on the local community, including some of the negative impacts suffered in the Bahamas as a result of the concentration on tourism as the main industry. Comprising 12 chapters and 12 appendices with comprehensive statistics as well as a Glossary of Travel Terms, it is the most complete documentation of Bahamas Tourism ever written. It is illustrated with over 300 photographs. It is no doubt the most authoritative publication of its kind.

---

“Mrs. Cleare has chronicled with details the effect on the Bahamian community of the income from tourism which over the years has become the major industry of The Bahamas, and has from being viewed with skepticism by the greater Caribbean been embraced with regional enthusiasm.

A unique feature of the History of Tourism is Ms. Cleare’s list of those whom she calls Tourism Giants and Stalwarts of the Twentieth Century, who contributed to the place which the industry holds in the economy, its social life and its politics. Mrs. Cleare has made a major contribution to the History of The Bahamas for which we all should thank her.”

-Hon. Paul L. Adderley-

THIS BOOK EXPLORES the many complex historical connections between the UNited States of America and the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Beginning with an overview of shared early Spanish colonization, the book is the first attempt to provide a comprehensive study of the impact of the sequential development of the United States on events in the emerging Bahamas, placing the heretofore marginalized history of the island nation firmly into the orbit of Atlantic historiographical literature. Among other things, the books sheds light on the role played by the islands in a series of significant events in the U.S. history. These include the American Revolution, in which four of the initial official military actions of the fledgling U.S. Navy comprised repeated invasions of British-controlled Nassau, capital of the Bahamas; the American Civil War during which Nassau became on of the main bases for supply of vital goods and ammunition to the Confederacy; the intrigues of the Volstead Act, which legislated prohibition but also caused the temporary transformation of Bahama ISlands into major transshipment centers for the smuggling of alcoholic beverages to a multitude of prohibition-defiant and "thirsty" Americans; and the significant role placed by Bahamian migrants in the creation of the city of Miami and other areas of south Florida. The author draws on a wealth of tapped and untapped primary sources and presents a new perspective on the "Bahamian experience" that helped to define the self-proclaimed American credo of "Manifest Destiny."

THIS BOOK EXPLORES the many complex historical connections between the UNited States of America and the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Beginning with an overview of shared early Spanish colonization, the book is the first attempt to provide a comprehensive study of the impact of the sequential development of the United States on events in the emerging Bahamas, placing the heretofore marginalized history of the island nation firmly into the orbit of Atlantic historiographical literature. Among other things, the books sheds light on the role played by the islands in a series of significant events in the U.S. history. These include the American Revolution, in which four of the initial official military actions of the fledgling U.S. Navy comprised repeated invasions of British-controlled Nassau, capital of the Bahamas; the American Civil War during which Nassau became on of the main bases for supply of vital goods and ammunition to the Confederacy; the intrigues of the Volstead Act, which legislated prohibition but also caused the temporary transformation of Bahama ISlands into major transshipment centers for the smuggling of alcoholic beverages to a multitude of prohibition-defiant and "thirsty" Americans; and the significant role placed by Bahamian migrants in the creation of the city of Miami and other areas of south Florida. The author draws on a wealth of tapped and untapped primary sources and presents a new perspective on the "Bahamian experience" that helped to define the self-proclaimed American credo of "Manifest Destiny."

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The year 1963 can be considered as the beginning of tourism development on the island of St. Martin and, therefore, the transition year between an agricultural, rural economy and a commercial, tourist-oriented economy. The 37-square mile French/Dutch Island with English-speaking natives began its transformation into modernity with the electrification of the greater part of the island and the construction of the first terminal of the Princess Juliana International Airport during that year. Many islanders left their gardens and grounds to work in the construction field, in the stores and hotels, which opened that year. As the development increased, numerous immigrants from the close neighboring islands came in search of work, and waves of St. Martiners who had migrated to then prosperous Caribbean islands returned to their homeland to fill the new positions in the first banks, business administrations, and governmental offices. The festive, gentle way of life of the natives harmoniously blended with the burgeoning new economy, and greatly contributed to the success of the tourism industry, which made St. Martin one of the top Caribbean destinations. Its attractiveness derived not only from the unique beauty of its combined pond and hill sceneries, but also from the warm hospitality and friendliness of the natives.

The year 1963 can be considered as the beginning of tourism development on the island of St. Martin and, therefore, the transition year between an agricultural, rural economy and a commercial, tourist-oriented economy. The 37-square mile French/Dutch Island with English-speaking natives began its transformation into modernity with the electrification of the greater part of the island and the construction of the first terminal of the Princess Juliana International Airport during that year. Many islanders left their gardens and grounds to work in the construction field, in the stores and hotels, which opened that year. As the development increased, numerous immigrants from the close neighboring islands came in search of work, and waves of St. Martiners who had migrated to then prosperous Caribbean islands returned to their homeland to fill the new positions in the first banks, business administrations, and governmental offices. The festive, gentle way of life of the natives harmoniously blended with the burgeoning new economy, and greatly contributed to the success of the tourism industry, which made St. Martin one of the top Caribbean destinations. Its attractiveness derived not only from the unique beauty of its combined pond and hill sceneries, but also from the warm hospitality and friendliness of the natives.

The Hanging of Arthur Hodge-A Caribbean Anti-Slavery Milestone - selected for the Best Non-Fiction Book Award by The Sacramento Publishers Association - is a study of slavery in the British West Indies during the half-century before Parliament´s 1834 decision to emancipate the slaves. Its focus is on the crimes, trial and execution of Arthur Hodge, a prominent Virgin Islands planter and politician whose unprecedented hanging for the murder of Prosper, one of his own slaves, was to rouse the British anti-slavery movement from the contentment it was enjoying following the abolition of the slave trade and help direct its efforts toward the ultimate emancipation of the slaves throughout the British Empire. The life, trial and execution of Arthur Hodge is a story of great interest in its own right, but that story is also important because it was truly a milestone on the road to the end of slavery in the British Empire.

Arthur Hodge was a dominant figure in the Virgin Islands in the early 1800s. Born in the islands, he studied at Oxford and later served in the British army. His wife was a sister-in-law of the Marquess of Exeter. He was described as a man of great accomplishments and elegant manners. But evidence presented during his trial revealed another side of his character. Between 1803 and 1808 Hodge had murdered as many as sixty - or one-half - of the slaves who labored on his Tortola plantation. They died by whipping, scalding and having boiling water poured down their throats.

Although Hodge´s treatment of his slaves was common knowledge, he was only brought to trial several years after the killings as a consequence of a political and personal dispute. Hodge was found guilty of murder by a local jury and - when the Governor of the Leeward Islands chose to ignore the jury´s recommendation of leniency -became the only slave owner in the history of the British West Indies to be executed for the murder of one of his own slaves.

Hodge´s character contrasted sharply with that of his chief prosecutor, Governor Hugh Elliot, a noted diplomat and a supporter of the anti-slavery forces in Great Britain whose brother, the Earl of Minto, was currently Viceroy of India and whose brother-in-law, Lord Auckland, had - four years before - carried the bill ending the slave trade in the House of Lords.

The hanging of Arthur Hodge caused a sensation and transcripts of his trial were published in both Great Britain and the United States. The news helped to revitalize the anti-slavery forces, playing an important role in the debates leading to the establishment of slave registries and the accountability they implied throughout the Caribbean colonies.

After a brief introduction which concludes with the language of the indictment issued against Hodge and his counsel´s response that "A Negro being property, it was no greater offense for his master to kill him than it would be to kill his dog," the book opens with a short history of the settlement of the Virgin Islands and descriptions - from contemporary sources - of the lives of plantation owners and of their slaves. Included are personal descriptions of enslavement in Africa, the Middle Passage, the work and recreation of the slaves, their religious beliefs and the brutalities which some of them endured. The following chapters contain biographies of Hodge and Elliot and a recapitulation of the events which led to Hodges indictment and trial. Original transcripts and reports were used as the basis for the report of the trial and execution. The book concludes with a discussion of the effects of the Hodge affair on the anti-slavery movement and capsule descriptions of the subsequent careers some of those involved. (Governor Elliot later served in India as Governor of Madras and is buried in Westminster Abbey).

The work is based upon original and other contemporary sources, including both the published and official manuscript transcripts of Hodge´s trial and Governor Elliot´s official and private correspondence. It offers the reader firsthand insight into events which deserve to be much better known than they are today.