Military Sites Archaeology in the Caribbean: Studies of Colonialism, Globalization, and Multicultural Communities

This collection contains the abstracts of the papers presented in the session entitled "Military Sites Archaeology in the Caribbean: Studies of Colonialism, Globalization, and Multicultural Communities," at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

From the sixteenth to the twentieth century, Caribbean islands and countries served as extractive colonies and strategic bases for expanding European and American powers. Sugar, coffee, and other Caribbean commodities fueled global economies and powered modern capitalism and globalization. European and American interests and conflicts led to the establishment of numerous military sites in the region, including fortifications, encampments, battlefields, shipwrecks, dockyards, and cemeteries. Beyond studies of technology, war strategies and statecraft, military sites are meaningful points of culture contact and social interaction that at different times involved the activities of Europeans, Americans, Caribbean islanders, enslaved and freed Africans, and women and children. Papers in this symposium bring together archival and archaeological evidence to discuss military sites from British, Dutch, Danish, French, and Spanish Caribbean islands and cover topics on colonialism, globalization, community relationships, the contributions of African-Caribbean peoples, and the significance of military life and Caribbean heritage.