The Last Turtlemen of the Caribbean

“A compelling and insightful study of the human and nonhuman relationships that shaped the important Caribbean industry of turtling, with a focus on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.”—American Historical Review

“Crawford’s book is a timely reminder that the sea has long been at the center of regional debates . . . expertly woven narrative of a fishery in decline could be superimposed upon any community of fishers in the Caribbean today.”—H-LatAm

“A valuable maritime perspective of the Caribbean past. . . . [The Last Turtlemen of the Caribbean] reminds its readers that . . . [n]ot only humans were global in their movements and impact.”—World History Connected

“A great resource for teaching. . . . The history of the turtlemen appeals to historians of all sorts; whether one is interested in transnational governance, labour and empire, or environmental change and conservation, there is a chapter for you in this book.”—The Low Countries Journal of Social and Economic History

“Well written and richly documented . . . [and] supported by impeccable writing and thorough historiographical research and analysis.”—New West Indian Guide

“The Caymanian turtlemen are the protagonists of the story Crawford tells, but she does justice to the regal turtle (primarily green turtles, known for their tasty flesh, and haawksbills, coveted for their beautiful shells) they hunted, too. She poignantly describes their extraordinary migratory ways and the often-gruesome fashions in which they died to sustain appetites of all sorts, near and far.”—American Historical Review

“Crawford inspires us to reconsider assumptions and challenge conclusions to open new vistas of historical inquiry. This innovative book is carefully researched, well written, engaging, and accessible to undergraduate and graduate students across the humanities and social sciences.”—Journal of American History

“This may be the first book to consider marine animals—mainly the green and hawksbill turtles—as an organizing principle to examine society and empire. Bringing the humble turtle into conversation with state power and control, Sharika Crawford takes you on the ships and into the hunt to investigate the ideas, people, and commodities that so intimately connected a diaspora of animal-seekers and their communities. These men and these turtles reshape how we think about the slippery interfaces between humans and the sea, societies and animals, the Caribbean and the world.”—Emily Wakild, Boise State University

“Compellingly explores Caribbean turtlemen’s social and economic roles from the colonial era to the early twentieth century. Combining environmental and labor history with commodity studies, Crawford shows how the survival of sea turtles and the working people whose livelihoods depended upon increasingly endangered species became intertwined within the fragile ecology of the Caribbean.”—Jennifer L. Anderson, Stony Brook University