Swords, Ships & Sugar: History of Nevis to 1900

I just finished this book last night and I was surprised that I could hardly put this book down. A very interesting read for anyone that's interested in history in the Caribbean. My only complaint is that there wasn't much time spent on the nineteenth century and that's what I was really interested in reading about. There's plenty about the 1600's and the 1700's, but very little about the 1800's. I hadn't realized how volitale life was living on one of the Caribbean islands in that time period and the book contained some interesting stories. All in all, an entertaining read.

This is a thoroughly researched history of Nevis, one of the pivotal islands in the Caribbean. It includes battles on the high seas, pirates, slave revolts, the origin of rum and the drama of a sugar empire built and destroyed. The amazing thing about this book is that it never gets boring or dry. I stayed up to finish it like I normally do with a Dick Francis mystery novel. If high school and college History had been this interesting there'd be a lot better attention paid in class.

Having traveled to Nevis every January for the past 8 years for a holiday, I found this book truly fascinating. For those of you who don't know about Nevis, it is part of the twin island state of St. Kitts - Nevis located in the Leeward island chain in the Caribbean. Nevis has a long history starting with the Carib and Arawak Indians, and ending up with a fusion of races from England, France, Africa, South America, etc. What I found so great about this book was the fact that the author, Vincent K. Hubbard, who is an American living on Nevis, takes a 3,000 years of history and crams into just over 100 pages. Don't be fooled by the size of the book though, the wealth of history in this book is amazing. Mr. Hubbard guides you on a tour of the islands history in a manner that seems more like you're reading a novel, not a history book. His style of writing is colorful, light, and yet informative.The history of the battles fought between France, England, and Spain over Nevis are documented in such a way that you would think you were at the battles yourself. The interesting facts on Admiral Horatio Nelson (who was married on Nevis), Alexander Hamilton on the American statesman (Born on Nevis)and other rascally character through the ages are abundant. Incidentally Americas first naval battle and victory took place off the coast of Nevis. All in all if you like history, or if you are just planning a holiday in this "Queen of the Carribbes" island of Nevis you can't go wrong in reading this book. Humor and history is a hard combination to beat. The only drawback in my opinion were the less than detailed photo descriptions. Enjoy the book!