ABSTRACT
The first part of this book represents a series of studies in search of an understanding of the British West Indies. The second part of the book contains the most pellucid writing. In comparing slavery and emancipation in Jamaica and Nigeria, more specifically, the peoples of Zaria and Hausa, Smith realizes the high possibilities in the comparative-historical model over other available models. The final portion of the book presents materials of a more technical level. Yet Smith has the rare capacity to infuse even dense material with insight and literary grace. Smith uses 'pluralism' distinctively, not as an illustration of cultural democracy, but rather as a characteristic feature of dependence and decadence. The penultimate chapter is a fascinating study of Grenada and its little-known mass leader E. N. Gairy. Beyond that, it is a study of how political enfranchisement enables the colored masses to cope with Western-oriented white elite.
