The Caribbean Irish: How the Slave Trade Myth was Made by Miki Garcia

This non-fiction book looks at the early Irish settlers in the Caribbean Islands. 

The book considers the effects the many of the settlers and invaders had on the Irish and their way of life, from the missionaries of Rome, Vikings, Scots, Normans and ultimately the English and the battles led by the military leader, Oliver Cromwell. War, famine and religious disharmony made Ireland not a pleasant place to be. Plenty of pull and push factors discussed: definitely a case of Irish winners and losers.

This is a good study, full of dates, facts and figures indicating the amount of research Garcia has undertaken. Some of the research is a bit repetitive and the organisation of the material lacks flow, but it is easy to read. However, this remains a fairly unknown piece of history and the author suggests that this is because the Irish are diverse and unclassifiable and not much documentation survives. Perhaps this is all of it. Fascinating stuff. 

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Published by Chronos Books on 29 November 2019.
​Advanced review copy supplied by the publisher.

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