African American Research Center, Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Notes:
Revision of thesis (Ph. D.--Johns Hopkins University, 1974), originally presented under title: Slave resistance and social control in Antiqua, 1700-1763., 338 P., Essentially a history of the Caribbean sugar societies as manifested on one small island from 1670 to 1763. In 1736, the British Caribbean island of Antigua uncovered a plot among its slave population to destroy the white power structure. Using extensive quotations from the governmental investigation of the plot, Gaspar attempts a full examination of all aspects of a slave society and of the intertwined relationships of masters and servants.
"This paper uses the Bissette affair to evaluate the application of 'action theory,' an influential orientation in contemporary political anthropology. ....By applying [Victor W.] Turner's concepts of social drama and political field to the Bissette historical incident and to local-level politics in Morne-Vert, I will demonstrate some inherent strengths but also a decided weakness, given a political economy viewpoint, in Turner's contribution to action theory." (author)
