Although originally published in 1657, this reprint more closely resembles the corrected 1673 edition, maintaining the punctuation but modernizing some language. Englishman Legion describes his ocean voyage to Barbados, the food eaten on the island at that time, and the region’s flora and fauna. A 30-page introduction by Professor Kupperman of New York University summarizes Ligon’s life and adds context to the history. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Ligon's True and Exact History of the Island of Barbados is the most significant book-length English text written about the Caribbean in the seventeenth century. (It] allows one to see the contested process behind the making of the Caribbean sugar/African slavery complex. Kupperman is one of the leading scholars of the early modern Atlantic world. . . . I cannot think of any scholar better prepared to write an Introduction that places Ligon, his text, and Barbados in an Atlantic historical context. The Introduction is quite thorough, readable, and accurate; the notes (are] exemplary! --Susan Parrish, University of Michigan