John D Grainger 
The British Navy in the Caribbean 

A survey of the activities of the British navy in the Caribbean from the voyages of sixteenth century English adventurers such as John Hawkins and Francis Drake through the great wars of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries against the Dutch, Spanish and French and Britain’s declining role thereafter.


This book charts the involvement of the British navy in the Caribbean from the earliest times to the present. It recounts the voyages of sixteenth century English adventurers such as John Hawkins and Francis Drake and their attacks on Spanish territories, outlines the capture of Jamaica during the time of Oliver Cromwell’s rule and describes the growth of the British slave trade. It goes on to discuss the late seventeenth century and eighteenth century conflicts and wars with the Dutch, Spanish and French and the War of American Independence, analyses the effect of the abolition of the slave trade and explores the British dominance which prevailed throughout much of the nineteenth century. The book concludes by examining how in the twentieth century the British navy withdrew almost entirely from the Caribbean, tacitly ceding control to the United States. Throughout the book relates developments in the Caribbean to developments in Britain and in the British navy more widely. John D. Grainger is the author of numerous books for a variety of publishers, including eight previously published books for Boydell and Brewer, including
The British Navy in the Baltic,
Dictionary of British Naval Battles and
The First Pacific War: Britain and Russia, 1854-56.

Table of Content

Introduction

1. English Encroachments, Timidly

2. Slavers and Pirates

3. War, Privateering and Colonies

4. Western Design

5. Buccaneers

6. Two Great Wars

7. Pirates,
Asiento and
Guarda costas

8. Jenkins’ War

9. The Seven Years’ War

10. The American War – Defeats

11. The American War – Recovery

12. The Great French Wars

13. Fading Supremacy

Conclusion

Bibliography

About the author

John D. Grainger is the author of numerous books for a variety of publishers, including nine for Boydell and Brewer, including The British Navy in the Baltic, Dictionary of British Naval Battles, The First Pacific War: Britain and Russia, 1854-56 and The British Navy in the Caribbean.