{"product_id":"an-empire-divided-the-american-revolution-and-the-british-caribbean-early-american-studies-9780812235586","title":"An Empire Divided: The American Revolution and the British Caribbean (Early American Studies)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThere were 26not 13British colonies in America in 1776. Of these  the six colonies in the CaribbeanJamaica  Barbados  the Leeward Islands  Grenada and Tobago  St. Vincent; and Dominicawere among the wealthiest. These island colonies were closely related to the mainland by social ties and tightly connected by trade. In a period when most British colonists in North America lived less than 200 miles inland and the major cities were all situated along the coast  the ocean often acted as a highway between islands and mainland rather than a barrier. The plantation system of the islands was so similar to that of the southern mainland colonies that these regions had more in common with each other  some historians argue  than either had with New England. Political developments in all the colonies moved along parallel tracks  with elected assemblies in the Caribbean  like their mainland counterparts  seeking to increase their authority at the expense of colonial executives. Yet when revolution came  the majority of the white island colonists did not side with their compatriots on the mainland. A major contribution to the history of the American Revolution  An Empire Divided traces a split in the politics of the mainland and island colonies after the Stamp Act Crisis of 1765-66  when the colonists on the islands chose not to emulate the resistance of the patriots on the mainland. Once war came  it was increasingly unpopular in the British Caribbean; nonetheless  the white colonists cooperated with the British in defense of their islands. OShaughnessy decisively refutes the widespread belief that there was broad backing among the Caribbean colonists for the American Revolution and deftly reconstructs the history of how the island colonies followed an increasingly divergent course from the former colonies to the north.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45280442187829,"sku":"ByrdShop_0812235584","price":182.23,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780812235586.jpg?v=1780636316","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/an-empire-divided-the-american-revolution-and-the-british-caribbean-early-american-studies-9780812235586","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}