Historic Architecture In The Caribbean Islands

The books in the Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series demonstrate the University Press of Florida’s long history of publishing Latin American and Caribbean studies titles that connect in and through Florida, highlighting the connections between the Sunshine State and its neighboring islands. Books in this series show how early explorers found and settled Florida and the Caribbean. They tell the tales of early pioneers, both foreign and domestic. They examine topics critical to the area such as travel, migration, economic opportunity, and tourism. They look at the growth of Florida and the Caribbean and the attendant pressures on the environment, culture, urban development, and the movement of peoples, both forced and voluntary. The Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series gathers the rich data available in these architectural, archaeological, cultural, and historical works, as well as the travelogues and naturalists’ sketches of the area prior to the twentieth century, making it accessible for scholars and the general public alike. The Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series is made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, under the Humanities Open Books program.

"Illustrated with colour plates and line drawings, Architectural Heritage of the Caribbean also traces the historical and economic developments which created the region's unique Creole styles. As governments and conservation societies look to the increasing potential of 'heritage tourism', this wide-ranging book provides an invaluable guide for visitors and students of architecture."--Jacket.

An architectural history of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic offering a unique synthesis of research from primary and secondary Spanish sources. Gosner outlines the progression of styles in the West Indies--military architecture, religious and urban structures, urban palaces, and the particular design adaptations in each of the countries that comprise the Spanish Antilles. The volume is generously illustrated with pen and ink drawings and floor plans. The publisher's address is PO Box 636, Pueblo, CO 81002. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Colonized by Spanish, French, Brit. and Dutch settlers, Caribbean architecture reflects a variety of colonial influences. Its buildings are also testimony to a history of slavery and constant immigration, revealing the legacy of African, Asian, and North Amer. styles and techniques. Spanish cathedrals and convents, Dutch gabled warehouses, English country houses and French ironwork market buildings have all survived. Featuring over 1,000 architectural sites, this guide describes churches, plantation houses, fortresses and ordinary homes on every island from the Bahamas to Trinidad, and traces the historical and economic developments which have created the region1s unique Creole styles. Glossary of architectural terms. Color plates and line drawings

Caribbean Houses is a lavishly illustrated account of the development of historically significant houses in the West Indies. Author Michael Connors, a West Indian decorative arts scholar, examines venerable houses that remain as a testimony to the rich history and vibrant lifestyle that was, and continues to be, an important part of Caribbean culture. The book is divided into five chapters, one for each European heritage: the Spanish Antilles, the Dutch Leewards, the English Islands, the French Lesser Antilles, and the Danish Virgin Islands. An authoritative text sheds light on the area’s rich architectural and interior design history and gives the reader a unique view of houses that combine the tradition of European styles with the vernacular island forms and decorative motifs. The lavish new photography captures the stunning exteriors and provides a rare look into the interiors of these historic houses, with exotic tropical hardwoods, indigenous stone, and a blending of local crafts and handiwork with antiques and contemporary furnishings. With the disappearance of so much of the Caribbean’s historic domestic architecture, the colonial residences that still exist represent an important historical record of the Caribbean’s material culture.

This guide to the historical architecture of Florida, a diverse assembly of buildings reflecting the rich heritage of the state, is divided into zones and each zone into counties. Each county is represented with an architectural history, a list of historic sites, and a map locating the sites. The structures were chosen for historic and architectural significance to the area. Each guide entry is identified by a photograph, name, address, and brief description. Only major and easily identifiable features are mentioned.

Through Creole houses and merchant stores to sugar fields and boiling houses, Jamaica played a leading role in the formation of both the early modern Atlantic world and the British Empire. Architecture and Empire in Jamaica offers the first scholarly analysis of Jamaican architecture in the long 18th century, spanning roughly from the Port Royal earthquake of 1692 to Emancipation in 1838. In this richly illustrated study, which includes hundreds of the author’s own photographs and drawings, Louis P. Nelson examines surviving buildings and archival records to write a social history of architecture. Nelson begins with an overview of the architecture of the West African slave trade then moves to chapters framed around types of buildings and landscapes, including the Jamaican plantation landscape and fortified houses to the architecture of free blacks. He concludes with a consideration of Jamaican architecture in Britain. By connecting the architecture of the Caribbean first to West Africa and then to Britain, Nelson traces the flow of capital and makes explicit the material, economic, and political networks around the Atlantic.

"Colonial architecture has long been a highlight for those visiting the Caribbean isles. Many of the tens millions of international visitors that arrive every year in the Caribbean seek out the historical highlights of the islands that display the unique and varied history of the tumultuous colonial past. Large scale historic locations, such as El Morro in Puerto Rico, down to small scale privately run great houses, such as Saint Nicholas Abbey in Barbados, all contribute to bringing in curious and eager tourists looking to relive the past, and with them, the ever needed tourist dollars. Tourism revenue in the Caribbean totals is in the billions, and for some small island nations, their GDP greatly depends on tourism dollars. Without tourism, their economies could spectacularly collapse. However, with the ongoing movement of decolonization and the desire to have both political and cultural separation from these European superpowers, is promotion and preservation of these colonial structures beneficial to those descendants still living in the Caribbean? Does economic growth and tourism outweigh the positive movement of rediscovering suppressed cultures and the overall need of societal healing from a violent and oppressive past? When these questions arise, all angles must be examined, and the scales must be brought out to weigh both good and bad, pain versus healing, and ultimately how these financially struggling Caribbean islands can both express the emotional wants and needs of their native populace for truth and honesty in history, while simultaneously addressing the desires of the much needed tourists to see the fabled yet tangible remnants of the Colonial Caribbean Era."--leaf ii.

The books in the Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series demonstrate the University Press of Florida’s long history of publishing Latin American and Caribbean studies titles that connect in and through Florida, highlighting the connections between the Sunshine State and its neighboring islands. Books in this series show how early explorers found and settled Florida and the Caribbean. They tell the tales of early pioneers, both foreign and domestic. They examine topics critical to the area such as travel, migration, economic opportunity, and tourism. They look at the growth of Florida and the Caribbean and the attendant pressures on the environment, culture, urban development, and the movement of peoples, both forced and voluntary. The Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series gathers the rich data available in these architectural, archaeological, cultural, and historical works, as well as the travelogues and naturalists’ sketches of the area prior to the twentieth century, making it accessible for scholars and the general public alike. The Florida and the Caribbean Open Books Series is made possible through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, under the Humanities Open Books program.