Author: James Ferguson

Literature, History, People, United States, Jamaica

Claude McKay: the Black Bolshevik | On this day

James Ferguson profiles Jamaican poet and revolutionary Claude McKay, whose landmark collection Harlem Shadows was published a century ago

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History, People, Science, Barbados

Alain Bombard: the voluntary castaway | On this day

Seventy years ago, Alain Bombard journeyed from the Canaries to the Caribbean in a 15-foot dinghy to prove that man could survive on water, fish, and plankton alone. James Ferguson tells the tale

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Immerse, History, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago

Royal dissent | On this day

Like Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica celebrates its 60th anniversary of independence in August and, as James Ferguson reports, is among the countries in the region likely soon to become a republic

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Engage, History, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

An island for a princess | On this day

Sixty years ago, the newlywed Princess Margaret, sister to the queen of England, arrived in Mustique on her honeymoon. It was the start of a relationship between the tiny Grenadine island and international celebrity, writes James Ferguson — and a twist in the complicated and often unhappy life of the princess

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Engage, History

Be fruitful and multiply | On this day

March brings the 180th birthday of the man who singlehandedly created the Caribbean banana industry. James Ferguson looks back at the life and times of Lorenzo Dow Baker, Yankee entrepreneur

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Engage, Literature, History

Guide and prejudice | On this day

Few things get outdated faster than a guidebook, but one century-old guide for Caribbean travellers reveals much about old stereotypes of the region — and what has and hasn’t changed, writes James Ferguson

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Engage, History

Cruising for trouble | On this day

Some people love cruise ships, some people hate them. But, personal preferences aside, the fate of the SS Columbus — scuttled by her captain eighty years ago — suggests the dangers of tourism in a time of war. James Ferguson tells the tale

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Engage, Culture, Environment, History

Get a kick | On this day

Kick ’Em Jenny sounds like a comic name, but for the scientists who study this underwater volcano, first recorded eighty years ago, it’s no laughing matter. The Caribbean was shaped by its volcanoes, says James Ferguson, which created our mountainous island landscapes — but can also wreak havoc

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Funding provided by the 11th EDF Regional Private Sector Development Programme Direct Support Grants Programme.
The views expressed on this website are those of the the authors and do not reflect those of the Direct Support Grants Programme.

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