Beyond Massa Book Report
Sugar management in the British Caribbean 1770-1834 has attracted the attention of Dr Campbell to the extent that he found it apt to pursue extensive research on the topic which culminated in his inspiring book- Beyond Massa. Dr Campbell has served as a senior Lecturer at the University of the West Indies. He concentrated in contemporary Caribbean civilization and culture, in the department of history, in the faculty of Humanities and Education. Dr Campbell thoroughly investigated the activities of the plantation life with emphasis on the Human Resource Management as it pertains to all the stakeholders involved. Beyond Massa explores in depth the misconceptions about slavery and critically re-examines presumed historical facts. Dr Campbell focus specifically on the Golden Grove plantation in Jamaica. However in doing so he highlighted the challenges faced by masters on the plantations, social relationships between slaves and masters, the enslaved elite and power centres. Beyond Massa has proven to be a present day analysis of past events using present day analytical tools. This was rather appropriate since it gives the reader a clear insight as to what really existed on the Golden Grove plantation in Jamaica in 1770-1834. The main objective of Dr Campbell’s research was to reveal the truths that were disguised among previous research about what really happened on the British Caribbean sugar plantation during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. As a consequence, I am convinced that the truths were really revealed because the arguments and ideas presented by Dr Campbell were well supported and verified by evidence through the many letters written between Simon Taylor and Chaloner Arcedekne (pg94). The information found in Beyond Massa definitely relates to the ideas of the definition of the Caribbean. This was so because the setting was based on the Jamaican plantations of Golden Grove. This is the area colonialized by