Ordinary Lives in the Early Caribbean: Religion, Colonial Competition, and the Politics of Profit by Kristen Block (review)

This is a fascinating and unique book. It throws a spotlight on the uses and misuses of religion between the ruling class and the underclass. It is a rich and cultured work which succeeds brilliantly in examining two overlooked groups in the Caribbean region during the long seventeenth century. Block has written a superb study of poor whites and slaves in the region. Her “serial microhistory” has made creative use of fragmentary sources in both English and Spanish on each side of the Atlantic. It consists of four parts – the first two deal with Criolla, a runaway slave seeking relief from a cruel mistress and Nicholas Burundel, a French Calvinist who was a henchman for the Spanish governor of Jamaica until he was arrested by the Inquisition. Part Three is about Henry Whistler, an English sailor who had been sent to the region under Oliver Cromwell’s plan for a holy war against Catholic Spain. But it is the fourth part, which concerns Caribbean Quakers and their slaves, that will most interest those who follow Quaker studies. This last part focuses on Yaff and Nell, who were slaves of the Quaker plantation owner Lewis Morris on Barbados. Given Quakerism’s later aversion to African Slavery, it is always fascinating to examine those Quakers who actually owned others as slaves. It remains one of the most puzzling aspects of Quaker history.

Many who converted to Quakerism in the Caribbean were slave owners who would begin a rather contorted journey toward staying both good capitalists and good Christians. It appears that Morris, and others like him, settled upon a paternalistic, pro-slavery ideology that would be replicated throughout the British Atlantic world. Even George Fox, who visited Barbados during the time period, was ambivalent about the institution.

Nell and Yaff, like so many others in the lower classes of the region, attempted to use religion to protect themselves from the ravages of their condition. They saw Quakerism as something which had the potential to make their lives better. Their stories, intertwined with that of Morris, make for most interesting reading. Morris saw himself as a decent man in a “search for moral security” [p. 150] and this lead him to the desire to convert his slaves to his religion. But both Nell and Yaff, who had each turned to the Quaker faith to better their lot, were disappointed. They discovered that even Quakerism was “a game rigged against their interests.” [p. 182] The fear of insubordination and open revolt among slaves made many Quaker masters act in authoritarian and hard hearted ways. The bottom line for most Quaker masters on Barbados was profit not Christian conversion. And intertwined with money was always the issue of race. This was a period of transition from religious identification to definition by race.

In her conclusion, Block continues her examination of Quakerism, slavery, profit, and race—ranging from the hypocritical fictional Quaker Doctor “William” of Defoe’s Adventures of Captain Singleton to real historical characters like John Perrott and Benjamin Lay. Her powerful conclusion indicts Caribbean Quakers for not having dug deeper “to understand the murky ties between . . . [their] values and . . . [their] economic interests.” [p. 230]. She suggests that they would have benefited from the discovery of some “shocking secrets” and “ugly truths” about themselves, as it would benefit us today as well. [p. 230]