This narrative history of the entire West Indian area since the fifteenth century, collates all existing knowledge of the Caribbean in relation to the rest of the world and examines the political, social and economic forces that have shaped this region since 1492.

Dominated by the history of sugar, which is inseparable from the history of slavery, From Columbus to Castro is a seminal work about a profoundly important but often neglected and misinterpreted area of the world.

Dr Eric Williams was best known in two roles: as a consummate historian, and as first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and head of government for twenty-five years, from 1956 until his death in 1981.