■ By examining the history of migration in the 19th century, the author finds grounds for contending that the view of transnationalism as a qualitatively different phenomenon is exaggerated, and the rejection of such terms as 'com munity', 'culture' and 'region' unnecessary or premature. The Caribbean region emerges as representative of an earlier transnational (or international) era, beginning with conquest, enslavement and the plantation economy.