This chapter breaks down the artificial historiographical and archival dichotomy between ‘east and west’ by exposing the multiple and intricate connections that facilitated the systematic transfer of people, capital and goods between the Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds. It will suggest that if we reorient our gaze from the economic structures of slavery and focus instead upon the family as a lens through which to explore Britain’s imperial engagement during this period, it is possible to reveal a far more interconnected and intimate vision of empire than is often credited. It will offer both a qualitative and quantitative survey of the scope of connections between the Caribbean, Britain and East India Company, alongside a consideration of how the structure of the archive can be negotiated in order to explore these questions. Finally, to provide substance and depth to these claims the chapter will offer a detailed case study of the Martins of Antigua.
6: Workforce Losses and Return Migration to the Caribbean: A Case Study of Jamaican Nurses
