Island on Fire: The Revolt That Ended Slavery in the British Empire

In this highly readable yet realistic account, Tom Zoellner tells the story of the Jamaican slave rebellion and its aftermath from memoirs, diaries and other records of the owners/slaveholders whose sugar plantations were burned, white and black Christian missioners who confronted the hedonistic and corrupt Jamaican colonial society, and enslaved participants including black Baptist minister Samuel Sharp who planned and led the revolt for partial wages (and is now regarded as an honored martyr in Jamaica).. Along the way, Zoellner gives fascinating and carefully researched descriptions of the new-found popularity of sugar and its effect on the planation economy, the abhorrent sexual treatment of enslaved women, the inept Jamaican colonial militia which followed the revolt with brutal retribution,, and the 1833 British debate over slavery elimination in the colonies What happened is highly relevant to the subsequent U. S. Civil War over slavery abolition and its aftermath with vestiges that continue today.

Excellent read well done l have been In this area of Jamacia, and it brought out alot, before l go back there again it will be read again. Further brings out the dehumanization of all because of the slave trade also brings out the role of the United States in its attempt to annex slave lands in the Caribbean. Just super

Extremely well written non fiction dealing with the colonial history of Jamaica through the abolition of slavery on the island. It covered the slave revolt leading to the abolition of slavery on Jamaica and colonial England. The politics of why slaves were allowed in the colony after they had been abolished in the U.K was an eye opener. The slave revolt has to be one of the U..K's low points, many innocent people were unjustly hung as expeditious. The revolt had far reaching effects not only in the U.K but any colony or country were slavery still existed. For anyone with an interest in history the book is a must read.

ISLAND ON FIRE is a vivid account of a stunning slave revolt and its leader, Samuel Sharpe, whose face now appears on the Jamaican fifty-dollar bill. To help us understand the history and economics of slavery, the book also offers important information about such things as the origin of the European slave trade, the addiction to sugar, the rise of Methodism, and U.S fears of slave revolts, all written in a concise, crisp style that’s gratifying to read from beginning to end.

The book is strange in that it gets both small and big things wrong. Overall, it makes the nation of Jamaica seem like a colonial, "Game of Thrones," and it may be that its most worthwhile, ironic contributions are the insights it provides of a non-structuralist historian. It condescends, trivializes, and surmises while not allowing facts to get in the way of narrative. The systemic abuse of slavery is eroticized explicitly by its author; it also fails utterly to recognize the economic value of this colony to the empire, suggesting instead that the atmosphere, overall, was dissolute when, in fact, it was the best organized, from the English standpoint, in its exploitation. It's a classic liberal view of history in that it omits the economic reasons for the institutions and structural impositions that made Jamaica a valuable asset to the English; rather, it tells a story.

The author has an easy to follow style that moves the reader along through the events. I liked that he told a piece of history little known outside of academia. His argument was strong and his research extensive, even to include oral history that he recognizes is impossible to substantiate.

Very very interesting history of Jamaica about which I knew nearly nothing. The title suggests it's about the entire island of Jamaica, but actually about a relatively small portion, perhaps one or two "counties/parishes". Nevertheless, an extremely fascinating read.

This story of a Christmastime revolt by enslaved people in Jamaica reads like a novel, and tells the story of Sam Sharpe, the enslaved Baptist preacher who tried to inspire a non-violent work stoppage that he hoped would help end slavery on the island. The book tells the story of the British addiction to sugar that fed the lucrative business of using enslaved people to produce cheap processed sugar, and the abolition movement in England and on Jamaica. (The story of the end of slavery in Jamaica had a huge impact on American politics as well, and an effect on policies in the U.S. South that might have helped ensure a civil war.). The depictions of how enslaved people were treated and the way sugar plantation owners behaved are hard but important reading. This book deserves every award it won.

I can't tell you how amazing this book is. Historically accurate but reads like a novel, it's so exciting. In short the story of Samuel Sharpe who inspired 36-60,000 Jamaicans to March on their slavers. They burnt 200 plantations, captured countless slavers but killed few. They inspired the British working class to demand more rights. Jamaicans united united by moral obligation to liberate themselves from cruelties of slavery. Amazing. His legacy lives on

Bought as a present however item arrived damaged with the back page ripped out???Will need to replace it but now it will miss the occasion it was purchased for.