The West Indians of Costa Rica: Race, Class, and the Integration of an Ethnic Minority (Volume 35) (McGill-Queen’s Studies in Ethnic History) - Hardcover

Harpelle, Ronald N.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0773521623 ISBN 13: 9780773521629

Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2001

Synopsis

Harpelle focuses on Caribbean migrants and their adaptation to life in a Hispanic society, particularly in Limón, where cultures and economies often clashed. Dealing with such issues as Garveyism, Afro-Christian religious beliefs, and class divisions within the West Indian community, The West Indians of Costa Rica sheds light on a community that has been ignored by most historians and on events that define the parameters of the modern Afro-Costa Rican identity, revealing the complexity of a community in transition. Harpelle shows that the men and women who ventured to Costa Rica in search of opportunities in the banana industry arrived as West Indian sojourners but became Afro-Costa Ricans. The West Indians of Costa Rica is a story about choices: who made them, when, how, and what the consequences were.

About this title

About the Author:

Ronald N. Harpelle is a historian and filmmaker. He is the author of "The West Indians of Costa Rica" and has written extensively about the West Indian diaspora in Central America. Ron Harpelle is also the director of "In Security", a documentary film about barbed wire and boundaries, and the co-director of "Banana Split", a documentary about Canada s favourite fruit. With Bruce Muirhead he appeared in [http: //vimeo.com/16696833/ "Citoyens du Monde/Citizens of the World"], done for TFO.

Review:

"A major contribution. Harpelle presents a clear narrative of the development of the region as an extension of the Afro-Antillean British Caribbean. His research and presentation of the important Limon following of Garveyism and the UNIA, a topic never developed before now, is one of the book's strongest points." Steven Palmer, University of Iowa "A significant contribution to scholarship. In the most complete investigation available to date, Harpelle considerably furthers our understanding of the history of the West Indian community in Costa Rica." James Handy, Department of History, University of Saskatchewan

About this edition

• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0773521623
• ISBN 13: 9780773521629
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 264