Mastery, Tyranny, and Desire

“As intimate a picture of African slavery in British America as we are ever likely to get. . . . An important moment in our efforts to understand the character of slavery in the British colonial world. . . . A remarkably rich and full picture of white-slave relations.”—Zadie Smith, New York Review of Books

“Offers fresh insights into the character of the plantocracy and its evolution. . . . Burnard’s extraordinarily thoughtful rendering of Thomas Thistlewood suggest[s] how much more is to be learned about those who ruled the universe in the age of the plantation.”—The Nation

“A careful study of the social, intellectual, and cultural worlds of a brutal slave owner. . . . A vivid and penetrating portrait of late eighteenth-century Jamaica.”—American Historical Review

“Lest scholars grow too complacent about what slavery entailed, Mastery, Tyranny, and Desire remains a remorseless reminder of the savagery needed to maintain the unholy alliance of slavery and empire.”—William and Mary Quarterly

“Compelling. . . . Burnard skillfully explores Jamaican slave society at its zenith.”—Caribbean Studies

“A brilliant and devastating work, and invaluable in developing my understanding of the brutal history of slavery in the Caribbean.”—Zadie Smith, New York Review of Books

“A chilling and fascinating picture of the richest British colony in the New World. . . . Essential reading for anyone interested in early American history and culture.”—Early American Literature

“A subtle, compelling, and beautifully written study of the racial, social, and gendered power systems that characterized eighteenth-century Jamaica.”—Betty Wood, Cambridge University

“Trevor Burnard’s Mastery, Tyranny, and Desire is a detailed study based on a rather unusual and exhaustive diary of an English migrant who becomes a small slaveholder in eighteenth-century Jamaica. It probably contains more information than any single source on Jamaican society and on slaves and slavery, and provides many important insights into the lives of slaves and of whites. Given the subject and the materials, this book will be of interest to all concerned with the study of slavery as well as scholars of the Caribbean and of British Caribbean history.”—Stanley L. Engerman, University of Rochester