In this book a group of distinguished anthropologists and historians respond to the work of Sidney Mintz. Mintz’s lifetime of engagement with the Caribbean pioneered new perspectives and approaches not only to the Caribbean but also to anthropology and the social sciences more broadly. His work combines anthropological fieldwork, especially in Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Haiti, with theoretical reflection about the societies with which he is engaged. The originality of Mintz’s contribution resides in his recognition of the historical character of the Caribbean and his concomitant effort to elaborate a historically grounded anthropology. In his view, there is nothing traditional in the Caribbean. The societies of the region were formed through the extension of European capitalism and colonialism, and largely, but not entirely, through racial slavery and the plantation system. Mintz’s insistence on the modernity of the Caribbean and its intimate relation with the historical development of capitalism has subverted...

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