From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean is a masterpiece of economic and (somewhat) political history. This is not a light read. It is, however, a very informative one. Published in 1970 From Columbus to Castro is a classic in the field of Caribbean history. The amount of information Williams was about to pack into this text is astounding. I aspire to such research depths and heights. Since Williams is writing from an economic and political view the narrative of From Columbus to Castro is dry but to counter that the characters of From Columbus to Castro are very short, making the information consumable. There are 49 chapters in here with titles ranging from "A sixteenth-century view of the West Indies" to "A Slave in Chains" to "Che' Guevara." The main theme of From Columbus to Castro here is capitalism. Economics driving how the Caribbean is colonized and its resources subsequently drained by European powers are in every chapter. Presenting data analysis and statistics, Williams makes his claims with powerful proof. However, throughout the text, there is no endnotes or footnotes, not citations at all. There is a bibliography but no way to check on all of the statistics and data he presents us. The bibliography is extensive though!! Eric Williams ends with suggestions on moving forward as a united Caribbean. From Columbus to Castro is a great read for anyone deeply interested in Caribbean history. If you want more narrative history, I would suggest another text. From Columbus to Castro is a great reference work and addition to anyone's shelf.

Quotes from the last chapter
“A too-long history of colonialism seems to have crippled Caribbean self-confidence and Caribbean self-reliance, and a vicious circle has been set up: psychological dependence leads to an ever-growing economic and cultural dependence on the outside world. Fragmentation is intensified in the process. And the greater degree of dependence and fragmentation further reduces local self-confidence.”

“Fragmentation is accompanied by massive dependence on the outside world, even in the independent countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean. With the exception of Cuba (the character of whose dependence is different from that of the others), the politically dependent and the politically independent countries of the Caribbean differ only in the latter’s possession of formal sovereignty. For the most part, they are all high dependent on the outside world— for economic aid; for large portions of the capital annually invested in both the traditional and the new manufacturing and tourist sectors of the economy; for sheltered markets for their traditional primary products; and even for emigration outlets for their surplus labour….”

“It is not possible at this stage to sketch out precisely the type of relationship which might be established between the Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth Caribbean. Suffice it to say there is great scope for functional collaboration in respect of the production, processing and marketing of commodities such as sugar and minerals such as bauxite; for the exchange of technological and scientific knowledge; for the rationalism of regional agriculture; and, not least, for the establishment of regional integrated industries in specific sectors, drawing their raw materials either from regional or extra-regional sources and serving both regional and non-regional markets.

Once there is true integration among all the units of the Caribbean, and once all the vestiges of political, economic, cultural and psychological dependence and of racism have been removed from the Caribbean, then and only then can the Caribbean take its true place in Latin America and the New World. And put an end to the international wars and inter-regional squabbles which, from Columbus to Castro, have marked the disposition of Adam’s will.”