Colonial Caribbean Currents: A Comparative History of Caribbean Energy Systems

This morning, I am up with the roosters in Canefield, the neighborhood near the capital city of Roseau during my summer in Dominica, and the former location of the Cane Field Estate plantation from 1763 until the British abolition of slavery in 1834.1 The sun is barely peeking out when I cross the street to my unofficial Dominican host family's house to see who is up early enough to sit down and eat fruits with me. On the table lies a bounty of fruits to choose from: paw paws (related to papaya), guavas, bananas, passion fruits, and mangoes. The first three fruits came from our last early morning, Friday venture to the market in town, where peasant farmers and vendors from around the island come to sell the fruits of their labor each weekend—as they have for centuries. The passion fruits and mangoes, on the other hand, were respectively brought by a friend and a neighbor from their home gardens (a feature of almost every standalone house in Dominica). I choose the first four fruits and cut them up for myself and my host auntie to enjoy at the kitchen table and chat with my host mom while she finishes filling her latest black pudding orders. As I eat, I receive a WhatsApp message from my American doula friend, Iris. She tells me that after three days of air travel and delays, she is finally taking flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico to complete the last leg of her trip.