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“Too oft allur’d by Ethiopic charms”? Sex, Slaves and Society in John Singleton’s A General Description of the West-Indian Islands (1767)

2007; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 38; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

1920-1222

John T. Gilmore,

Caribbean history, culture, and politics

In 1767, Barbados firm of George Esmand and William Walker printed for its author, John Singleton, A General Description of West-Indian Islands, As far as relates to British, Dutch and Danish Governments, from Barbados to Saint Croix. (1) This was, as title page noted, Attempted in Blank Verse. substantial and well-produced quarto volume is a tribute to capacities of colonial printing in period. At 2,470 lines, it is one of longer poems produced in Anglophone Caribbean region during period, rivalling James Grainger's Sugar-Cane, which was first published in 1764. (2) Like Grainger's poem, Singleton's enjoyed some success in its own day, though perhaps not for same reasons that make it of interest to modern student of Caribbean literature and social history. Another quarto (A Description of West Indies: A Poem, in four books) appeared in London in 1776 and was listed by Gentleman's Magazine in its Catalogue of New Publications in July. Monthly Review for September of that year was somewhat dismissive: descriptions are sometimes too minute, and of course offend against dignity of verse in which they are conveyed Author has succeeded still worse in episode. There is something, however, entertaining in his geographical account of Cole's Cave, and animal flower, which is, certainly, one of most extraordinary phenomena [sic] in nature. This was mild in comparison with some of Monthly Review's condemnations of would-be poets, however, and a briefer comment following month in rival Critical Review allowed that, the West India islands are described in blank verse, with tolerable diction and spirit. A so-called second edition in a smaller format was printed in London in 1777, and in this an advertisement leaf made claim that The Quarto Edition of this (meaning, presumably, London 1776 edition) having been honoured with a very liberal Encouragement; it cannot prove less acceptable to public, in a smaller Size, and at a cheaper Rate ... (unnumbered prelims). (3) Yet another appeared in Dublin in 1776, which was only one of four editions to include a subscription list, totalling 151, including a few titled persons. text of Dublin is in almost all respects same as that of Barbados one, with only minor variations in punctuation. two London editions, however, share a text that is significantly different. Most of sometimes-lengthy footnotes in earlier are omitted, and names of some individuals, which were previously given in full, are reduced to initials or have some letters replaced by dashes. Where poem itself is concerned, many passages that are in Barbados are omitted from London ones, including most of those which are given extended discussion in this article: references to slave punishments, passages on curse of Ham, wet-nurses, interracial sex, use of cashew juice for skinning face, Castalio and Chloe story, and moralizing injunctions at end of poem. One omitted passage that appears to be uncontroversial is a description of scenery and horse racing in Saint Croix (III, 145-189 Barbados edition). Whether these changes were made by author or by another and whatever reasons might have been behind them are matters about which there appears to be no evidence. Some, though not all, of omitted passages are of a sort that might well have given offence to members of West Indian planter class or to their relatives in Britain, and it is possible that Singleton himself decided to omit them from London editions because he had received a hostile reaction to his criticisms of white Creole manners and customs, and he wished to placate a class whose hospitality he had enjoyed while in Caribbean. …