Acknowledgements

This book has been enriched by many scholars, colleagues, and friends. I am grateful to Verene Shepherd and Maureen Warner-Lewis, who sparked my interest in post-slavery Caribbean history during my master’s program at the University of the West Indies, Mona. At the School of Oriental and African Studies, my PhD supervisor, John Parker, meticulously read multiple drafts of my thesis, providing constructive criticism and much needed encouragement throughout the lengthy PhD journey. I am grateful to my colleagues at the University of Glasgow (Callum Brown, Julia McClure, Stephen Mullen, and Christine Whyte), who offered their time to read parts of the manuscript. Hakim Adi, Avais Amin, Gordon Gill, Selwyn Cudjoe, Audra Diptee, Cecil Gutzmore, Matthew Hendley, Vannessa Lynn, Kathleen O’Mara, Juris Pupcenoks, Ivette Romero, Robbie Shilliam, Zoe Smith, Betty Wambui, and Nira Wickramasinghe have shown a profound belief in my work and acted as friendly writing champions at various points during the process, helping to propel this project forward during challenging times. I am grateful for the assistance of Andrew Apter, who generously sourced copies of M. G. Smith’s unpublished papers, which proved invaluable to my analysis of African work. I am immensely appreciative of my conversations with the late Donald Hill, an expert on Carriacouan culture, who answered my many questions. I am indebted to Nancy du Plessis and Cecily Jones for their thorough copy-editing and proofreading. Any mistakes that remain are mine alone. I am grateful to the anonymous reviewer for their incredibly insightful suggestions and comments, which greatly enhanced this work.

I gratefully acknowledge the assistance of staff at several libraries and archives, in particular at the Governor General’s Office in Grenada and Margaret Sylvester at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Library Open Campus, Grenada. Curtis Jacob and Claude Douglas were instrumental in directing me to resources or individuals on the island, and John Angus Martin provided opportunities to share my research at the Grenada National Museum and UWI Open Campus. I would also like to thank Nathan Salsburg, Curator at the Alan Lomax Archive, for permission to use images from that archive in this book. Financial support from multiple sources supported the completion of this book, especially from the State University of New York (SUNY) Oneonta, Marist College, and the University of Glasgow. Fellowships at the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University and the John Carter Brown Library, Brown University, provided much needed space and time to finish this book while I started archival research on a second project.

I am deeply indebted for the time, warmth, and generosity of my Grenadian interlocutors, whose vivid narratives form the core of this book. I would like to give special mention of the following individuals: Mrs Christine McQueen, Mr Benedict Andrew, Mother Medalin, Miss Rutie, Ms Mary Peters, Bishop Bridget Aberdeen, Bishop Ian Edwards, Bishop Donovan Peters, and Universal Empress Iya Ifatokie. My friend and colleague Olukoya Ogen invited me to Yorubaland, where I shared my work and learned more about Yoruba culture. I am extremely grateful to Cambridge University Press for accepting the work in their prestigious African Diaspora Studies series. Michael Gomez offered valuable comments on the proposal and manuscript and Cecilia Cancellaro and Victoria Phillips provided critical feedback and support throughout the publication process.

This book would not have come into fruition without the Almighty and the unwavering support of family: Henry Sylvester, Chloe Agbe, my grandmothers, Ambrozina ‘Tanty’ Sylvester and Julia George, as well as my parents, Martin George and Cheryl George.