The Stamp Act Crisis in the British West Indies

1977 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna J. Spindel
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
West Indies ◽  
West Indians ◽  
British West Indies ◽  
American Continent ◽  
North American Continent ◽  
The North ◽  
Stamp Act

Traditionally, colonial scholars have focussed their attention on the North American continent, where dramatic conflicts with Britain culminated in Revolution. No major article or book has yet dealt with British West Indians as active participants in the pre-Revolutionary struggle. This study attempts to correct that situation. Focussing on the Stamp Act crisis, it seeks to clarify the role of island colonists during the pre-war period and argues for a comprehensive appraisal of that role.

William Burke and Guadeloupe

2019 ◽  
pp. 27-46
Author(s):  
P. J. Marshall
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
West Indies ◽  
Benjamin Franklin ◽  
French Population ◽  
American Continent ◽  
The West ◽  
North American Continent ◽  
The North ◽  
British Colony ◽  
The Caribbean

William Burke gained the very desirable office of Secretary in the new regime established in the French island of Guadeloupe after the British conquest of 1758. The autonomy guaranteed to the French population under the terms of Guadeloupe’s surrender, however, limited the pecuniary advantages which he could obtain there. For much of his tenure he was in Britain, where he orchestrated a vigorous campaign for Guadeloupe to be turned into a permanent British colony. In his pamphlets, William, assisted by Edmund, argued cogently for greater value to be attached to gains in the Caribbean than to territorial aggrandizement on the North American continent. He was opposed by Benjamin Franklin among others. Whatever their merits, William’s arguments could not overturn long-established strategic priorities, in which new acquisitions in the West Indies did not feature highly. Guadeloupe went back to France in 1763 and William lost his office.

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