Fatal Revolutions: Natural History, West Indian Slavery, and the Routes of American Literature

In the eighteenth century, the Caribbean plantation system and the rise of natural science were closely linked, creating conditions for a distinctive literary culture in the early Americas. Eighteenth-century natural history writing in the Caribbean shaped the genre and was a major source of wealth for Europe and the Americas. Ianinni's book reestablishes the importance of the West Indies in forming American literary and intellectual culture and assesses the moral implications of colonial slavery.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 01 February 2022
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press

Drawing on a wealth of letters, illustrations, engravings, and neglected manuscripts, Christopher Iannini explores two dramatic transformations that shaped the eighteenth-century Atlantic world: the emergence and growth of the Caribbean plantation system and the rise of natural science. Iannini argues that these transformations were not only interconnected but also laid the foundation for a distinctive literary culture to develop in the early Americas.

In fact, eighteenth-century natural history as a literary genre largely took shape in the Caribbean, a region that was a prime source of wealth for Europe and the Americas. The formal evolution of colonial prose narrative, according to Ianinni, was contingent upon the emergence of natural history writing, which itself emerged as a result of the complex interplay between Atlantic slavery and the production of tropical commodities.

As he reestablishes the history of cultural exchange between the Caribbean and North America, Ianinni highlights the importance of the West Indies in shaping American literary and intellectual culture. He also sheds light on the moral implications of colonial slavery, challenging the conventional narratives that have often obscured the region's significance in shaping the world we know today.

Weight: 626g
Dimension: 155 x 301 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781469669427