Caribbean Ports Research Articles

Irish Immigrants in Colonial Port Cities of Cuba: Havana, Santiago, and Cienfuegos

Abstract The port city of Havana, central to the Spanish colonial fleet system since the late sixteenth century, remained an important nexus for nineteenth-century Atlantic trade networks of sugar, coffee, tobacco, and the slave trade. Positioning Irish immigrants in this global hub allows us to examine their presence in Cuba and their participation in global circuits of commodities, trade, and labor. Drawing on local colonial sources, we evaluate the opportunities and experiences of Irish immigrants as social actors in the multi-ethnic urban spaces of Havana and other strategically located port cities of Santiago and Cienfuegos. The Irish who converged on Cuba rarely came directly from Ireland. Hence, we explore three migration trajectories mediated through the British West Indies, the Spanish metropole, and globally connected cities of North America. The most prominent were high-ranking military men who arrived in Cuba in the eighteenth century through Iberian-Irish connections; a smaller number of propertied Irish who migrated from the West Indies; and lastly, distinct flows of largely anonymous nineteenth-century immigrants who came through emerging Atlantic networks of colonial labour via the United States. This study explores the entangled histories of Irish, African, and European diasporas in the social and political worlds of three Spanish Caribbean port cities. Through an analysis of how Irish immigrants negotiated processes of class, religion, race, and gender in colonial Cuba, we highlight their participation in key economic and social dynamics of white colonization strategies, plantation slavery, and the Atlantic slave trade.

Remedios for Relationships: Social Precarity and Amatory Therapeutics in the Early Circum-Caribbean

This study argues that practices sometimes referred to as “love magic” operated instead as relational therapeutics in colonial Latin America. Focusing on women's roles in Spanish Caribbean port cities from the late sixteenth through the early eighteenth century, I analyze a range of relationship remedios (or cures) ranging from divination and prayers to spells and potions by interrogating early modern Spanish Inquisition records from Mexico and Cartagena de Indias. Far from simple reflections of religious deviance, these trials show women searching within their relational networks for practical remedies to cure structural and personal problems in their sexual partnerships. Some remedies were clearly offered on a basis more transactional than therapeutic, a reflection of the inequality, violence, and trauma of life in the colonial Caribbean. People in the region drew on a range of amatory therapeutics to relieve emotional pain, soothe everyday tensions over power, and cope with economic precarity.

Late Nineteenth-Century Bulk Trade and Barges: An Historical Overview and the Likely Context of Two Deep-Water Shipwrecks in the Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico emerged as an American maritime frontier in the nineteenth century. Maritime activities expanded and matured in terms of technology, scope, and scale. The commerce of an emerging nation left a substantial archaeological record on the seabed in the Gulf and on the ocean highway heading out of the Gulf and to the southern Atlantic coast of the United States as well as into Central and South American and Caribbean ports. Sailing vessels continued to work in these trades throughout the century, in their last iterations as bulk carriers and in some cases as cut-down barges. Two deep-water shipwrecks offer archaeologically well-preserved, essentially undisturbed opportunities to assess former sailing vessels engaged in the bulk commodities trades of the Gulf in the last part of the nineteenth and the first part of the twentieth century. The wrecks dubbed the “Ewing Bank Wreck” and the “Vernon Basin 2109 Wreck” are former wooden sailing ships converted to barges carrying bulk commodities that were lost pursuing that trade. These wrecks reflect not only the rise of new bulk commodities trades in the Gulf, but also the inherent processes of repurposing ships at the end of their working lives.

The Impact of the American Revolutionary War on the Slave Trade to Cuba

Abstract: Scholars intent on considering the American Revolution's relationship to and influence on systems of slavery must be sure to look outside of the United States. In mid-September 1783, the schooner Eagle , captained by David Miller, landed 104 enslaved Africans in Charleston. This is the first known U.S.-flagged transatlantic slave voyage arriving in the United States after independence. Before bringing these captives from Africa, Miller had conducted a previous voyage on the Eagle , which landed fifty other captives in Havana in May 1783. The latter group of enslaved men, women, and children, whom Miller brought from the Danish colony of Saint Thomas in the eastern Caribbean, were some of the nearly 14,500 captives we have found who were shipped to Havana, mainly from other Caribbean ports, by merchants based in Cuba, the Danish West Indies, and the United States from 1781 to 1785. Examining the actions of U.S. slave traders in Cuba during the American Revolution also opens up the chance to dramatically increase our understanding of the broader traffic in enslaved people to the island during this period, emphasizing the merchant networks connecting Saint Thomas, Saint Domingue, and Charleston with Havana.

The Panama Railroad by Peter Pyne (review).

Reviewed by: The Panama Railroad by Peter Pyne Michael K. Bess (bio) The Panama Railroad By Peter Pyne. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2021. Pp. 395. Peter Pyne's The Panama Railroad is a cogent, well-researched work about the challenges of building modern infrastructures against hostile environments in the mid-nineteenth century. He also shows that his book fills a void, noting the absence of recent studies on the history of the Panama railroad and citing a handful of much older texts published before 1970. The narrative is highly readable and avoids jargon but tends to be more descriptive in its study of this history and lacks a deeper historiographical engagement with scholarly literature on Panama and socioeconomic themes related to Latin America. The book is organized into three sections. Initially, Pyne introduces readers to the lives and activities of the individual managers and capital investors who oversaw construction of the Panama railroad. He contextualizes the scope and aims of the endeavor: in 1849, emerging victorious from its war against Mexico, the U.S. government wanted to integrate its new territories in the west. Congress provided some incentives for mail carriage, but individual investors raised additional funds to set up their operations. William H. Aspinwall, one of the masterminds of the project, devised an ambitious network of sea and rail transportation that allowed ships to dock at Pacific or Caribbean ports, unload their goods, and ship them overland on the 47-mile rail line, saving months of additional sea travel around South America. The most complicated challenge faced was cutting through the thick jungle canopy populated with poisonous reptiles and innumerable mosquitos that tormented laborers and spread disease (p. 134). Another critical challenge was the plan itself; the project's initial organizational structure relied on thirdparty contractors who competed on price for work. The original contractor underestimated the cost of laying track in Panama, producing a budget that made it difficult to recruit workers (pp. 33–34). Pyne shows that this error caused setbacks that forced the company to reorganize operations to see the work to completion. Pyne then turns his attention to the thousands of laborers who built the railroad. He synthesizes extensive records to develop an understanding of this population. Unsurprisingly for the era, managers applied a racialized framework that determined wages and social hierarchy. Although white workers from the United States and Europe were the highest paid, Pyne finds a more complicated situation for other groups. Due to high turnover from disease, the company was forced to raise wages to recruit and retain nonwhite workers. They arrived from Jamaica and other British colonies in the West Indies but also included hundreds of Chinese, Indians, and Malaysians. [End Page 1189] The final part of The Panama Railroad continues the narrative on laborers but focuses readers' attention on Irish immigrants. Pyne finds that of the 17,500 employees, only 360 were contracted from Cork, Ireland; however, he estimates that almost 4,000 men hired from U.S. cities were likely Irish born. He arrives at this figure by studying U.S. labor demographics from the nineteenth century and other sources. An entire chapter is dedicated to the "men from Cork." Pyne is an Ireland-based researcher, and he makes good use of the sources available, but the decision to cordon the narrative on Irish workers into a separate section was a mistake. After having covered workers' lives and living conditions in detail in the previous sections, the author raises some repetitive points here and weakens the book's narrative flow. It seems natural to compare Pyne's work on the Panama railroad to the famous canal that came decades later. The U.S. canal builders benefited from the knowledge of previous endeavors as well as advances in sanitation and epidemiological research that improved health conditions. In contrast, the railroad's builders had none of these advantages. They were true pioneers, setting up operations to bring a new technology to a hostile natural environment. While he cites many of the important works on the history of Panama and building the canal, his engagement with their arguments is superficial. As a descriptive narrative, Pyne's work captures the challenges the railroad...

Hazardous elements present in coal nanoparticles in a Caribbean port region in Colombia

Scientific works examining coal-derived nanoparticles (NPs) containing potentially toxic elements (PTEs) confined in marine suspended sediments (MSSs) in port regions worldwide is an understudied topic, despite the fact that coal NPs have tremendous negative impacts on marine estuaries. The general objective of this study is to analyze the NP levels of coal, including PTEs, contained within MSSs in the general vicinity of the largest Caribbean port in Colombia. The morphology, size, chemical composition, and agglomeration states of NPs within MSSs of the sampled beaches were calculated through modern electron microscopy. The methodology used to detect chemical elements, unfortunately with EDS, it is not possible to precisely specify the chemical elements of low atomic weight (e.g. H, O, F, etc.) Therefore, with the EDS available today, it is only possible to have an idea of the chemical composition of each detected particle. Thus, it was possible to obtain the average frequency of the chemical elements identified in the 23 analyzed sampling points. Through the results, more than one thousand particles were detected in the most abundant phases, thus, the most frequent particles in the results of this manuscript were described. Sample point 8, located closest to the coal export port, had a higher concentration of nano-toxic elements (Al, Fe, Si, K, Mg, K) most concerning for human health in addition to being harmful to marine life. This study suggests that public policies dealing with MSS pollution need to be discussed by public managers to avoid further and sustained environmental degradation. The need to create projects will subsidize legacy liabilities generated by coal in seaports in other regions of the world.

Challenges confronting efficient port performance of selected countries in the Eastern Caribbean: what are the opportunities for Antigua and Barbuda?

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to shed light on emerging issues threatening the Eastern Caribbean and to suggest how Antigua's Port Authority redevelopment can assist in solving a major challenge. The fact that the ports have not improved in key areas appears to be impacting the ability of carriers to maintain their service to the region. The ongoing development being undertaken in Antigua represents the first major Port improvement project ever undertaken within this part of the world. This article reflects the impact this new facility will have on Antigua and the surrounding islands.Design/methodology/approachThe main inputs to this article were an extensive review of various regional and international journals and research projects; interviews with regional academics and port professionals; personal knowledge and experience and assessment of key industry data.FindingsThe continued departure of cargo lines from the region is an issue that requires urgent attention. Regional ports are not equipped with the infrastructure, technology, labor reforms and human resource capacity to entice new entries to the region. The displacement of cargo vessels by cruise ships also remains a major issue. The Port Authority of Antigua with its modern infrastructure and a cadre of technically trained people represents an option for a hub-and-spoke port and logistic operation.Research limitations/implicationsA follow-on study could usefully analyze the reduction in container lines serving the Caribbean/Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) between 1995 to the present day and the impact on trade and shipping costs.Practical implicationsIf it can become a regional hub, the Antigua Port Authority can serve as a lifeline to struggling carriers. This could result in improved regional connectivity and profit improvement for the carriers. It could also encourage regional participation in investment and employment opportunities.Social implicationsThe result of improving connectivity and intra-regional commerce will have a significant social impact within the OECS as economic integration improves. The free movement of people will finally be supported by the free movement of goods.Originality/valueThe article considers the concept of a dedicated container terminal within the Eastern Caribbean and the additional services being offered by the first Eastern Caribbean Port to upgrade its port infrastructure in the region.

Islanders and Empire: Smuggling and Political Defiance in Hispaniola, 1580–1690

Historians' interest in the seventeenth-century Caribbean has surged in recent years. Juan José Ponce Vázquez's revised dissertation analyzes the role that smuggling played in the cultural, economic, and sociopolitical development of Santo Domingo from the end of the sixteenth to the late seventeenth century. The author focuses on local communities that reflect shifting opportunities for the population during a period when hostile powers penetrated parts of the Spanish empire, including the island of Hispaniola, and established their own colonies in the Caribbean.Based on extensive research in the Archivo General de Indias, Ponce Vázquez shows that the development of plantation economies was not the only viable option for settlers in colonies neglected by the Spanish crown's preference for resource-rich parts of the New World. Some people found other means of survival, and the reason that Hispaniola trod a different path was its access to the lucrative contraband economy. Illicit trade, as it turned out, generated income for a substantial portion of the island's population. The author convincingly demonstrates that the colony was not lingering on the periphery of the Caribbean, as it has long been depicted, but was an active participant in the Atlantic economy that transcended the mercantilistic policies of the European rulers.The book is organized in chronological order. The first chapter covers most of the sixteenth century, when Hispaniola evolved from the center of Spanish imperial expansion to an impoverished backwater with limited opportunity for its inhabitants. In chapter 2 Ponce Vázquez describes how smuggling emerged as the predominant sector in the island's economy toward the end of the century. Contraband trade with Dutch merchants flourished, and many settlers profited from this form of commerce. The third chapter outlines the well-known forced depopulation between 1604 and 1606 that left large parts of the island's north and west open to foreign intrusion. The author then examines how Santo Domingo's inhabitants consolidated control over colonial government and forged new relationships with non-Spaniards and the authorities in the motherland. The focus on Rodrigo Pimentel's remarkable career as officeholder and ruthless businessman in the next chapter provides fine insights into the political culture of this neglected colony. The final chapter considers the relations with intruders, particularly the French who, beginning in Tortuga in 1629, seized the western coastal regions of the island and established the colony Saint-Domingue at a time when the Spanish crown barely managed to protect major Caribbean ports from foreign assaults.The surviving sources do not seem to be as rich as for other Spanish colonies like Mexico or perhaps Panama, but Ponce Vázquez paints a vivid picture of the development of Santo Domingo from the failure of plantation economy to the war against the French in 1690. The descriptions of the social and cultural implications of the reliance on illicit trade belong to the great strengths of this book. The author shows how the cabildo (governing council) became a “select club where friendships were established, profitable deals were struck, but also where members could become life-long enemies” (p. 144). While the local elites used the power of political office for their own advantage, the dirty work was often carried out by slaves. A few examples make the stories of various individuals come alive as well as further contribute to a better understanding of colonial society.Although this book covers much new territory, for historians of the Atlantic world the crucial intersection with the French remains a bit of a mystery. The author, for instance, describes a number of raids and counterraids in the 1660s and 1670s, but it is not clear whether there was any peaceful trade between these parties during this period. The lack of references in the Spanish correspondence is a major roadblock. Some papers in French archives suggest that merchants from Normandy specifically sought customers among the island's Spanish settlers. The potential profits seem to have outweighed the risks. The French and the Dutch sides of these illicit transactions wait to be explored in future research projects.In sum, Ponce Vázquez's work is an important contribution to the growing body of studies of smuggling and contraband trade in various parts of the Spanish empire. This excellent book is rich in detail and illuminates Hispaniola's history during a crucial phase of development. The author has done a fantastic job in bringing the many facets of colonial life outside the centers of prosperity to light. It is regrettable that the exorbitant price will severely limit the readership. Not only historians of Latin America and the Caribbean but also a broad audience with a more general interest could profit from the wider distribution of this study.

Impact of the Panama Canal expansion on Latin American and Caribbean ports: difference in difference (DID) method

The expanded Panama Canal opened on June 26, 2016. This expansion is the third set of locks that enabled the canal to double its capacity through the addition of new traffic lanes, which allowed neo-Panamax and some post-Panamax vessels to transit across the canal. The widening of the canal has increased maritime traffic within Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Major ports in the regions have made huge investments in port expansion and infrastructural development to accommodate neo-Panamax vessels. In this study, we investigated the impact of the Panama Canal expansion (PCE) on the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) ports by using the Difference in Difference (DID) method. This impact was evaluated for 100 major and regular ports within the three sub-regions of LAC, namely Caribbean, Central, and South America, before and after the treatment effect, that is, the PCE. The findings from the model revealed that the average container port throughput (TEUs) for the treated ports (DTrp) was more than that of the controlled ports (CONTp) with transshipment hub, Central America, and South America having 20%, 12%, and 34% growth, respectively, since the PCE (the treatment) except for the Caribbean ports (DTrp), which experienced losses of 8% within the LAC region from 2010 to 2019.

A social network analysis of interconnections among cruise ports

Despite the dominance of the Caribbean as the leading cruise destination in the world, research that focuses on the network of cruise ports in the region is limited. To fill this research gap, the current study carried out social network analysis (SNA) to inquire into cruise port interconnections and their influence on the operation of the entire Caribbean port network. The results are summarized as follows: First, in terms of connections among ports linked to the Caribbean region, a European port and a Southampton harbor exhibit the most significant in-degree and out-degree centrality. Nevertheless, ports within the Caribbean region are still significantly represented as regards both indexes. Second, in the matter of port influence, Caribbean ports are considerably the most important with respect to hub and authority centrality (HAC), especially those located in Florida and the eastern Caribbean. This research contributes to industry through its presentation of an extended panorama of the cruise network in the region, subjecting several ports to respective analyses that describe their principal characteristics and attractiveness in the industry.

Genetic Consequences of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the Americas

According to historical records of transatlantic slavery, traders forcibly deported an estimated 12.5 million people from ports along the Atlantic coastline of Africa between the 16th and 19th centuries, with global impacts reaching to the present day, more than a century and a half after slavery’s abolition. Such records have fueled a broad understanding of the forced migration from Africa to the Americas yet remain underexplored in concert with genetic data. Here, we analyzed genotype array data from 50,281 research participants, which—combined with historical shipping documents—illustrate that the current genetic landscape of the Americas is largely concordant with expectations derived from documentation of slave voyages. For instance, genetic connections between people in slave trading regions of Africa and disembarkation regions of the Americas generally mirror the proportion of individuals forcibly moved between those regions. While some discordances can be explained by additional records of deportations within the Americas, other discordances yield insights into variable survival rates and timing of arrival of enslaved people from specific regions of Africa. Furthermore, the greater contribution of African women to the gene pool compared to African men varies across the Americas, consistent with literature documenting regional differences in slavery practices. This investigation of the transatlantic slave trade, which is broad in scope in terms of both datasets and analyses, establishes genetic links between individuals in the Americas and populations across Atlantic Africa, yielding a more comprehensive understanding of the African roots of peoples of the Americas.

Los alemanes en el Caribe colombiano. Migración, sociabilidad y Nacionalsocialismo en Barranquilla, 1919-1945.

El presente artículo explora las dinámicas de migración y sociabilidad de los inmigrantes alemanes en la ciudad de Barranquilla, en el Caribe colombiano, durante un periodo que comprende la posguerra y la segunda guerra mundial. A través del análisis de distintas fuentes, como prensa, informes de inteligencia del gobierno colombiano y documentos generados por los mismos inmigrantes, entre ellos algunas publicaciones seriadas, se analiza la manera como estos extranjeros desplegaron toda una serie de dispositivos de sociabilidad que les permitieron una sólida conexión con la sociedad de acogida, y entre sí y su lugar de origen, elementos que estuvieron en la base del éxito de muchas de sus iniciativas empresariales y que los convirtieron en protagonistas de primer orden del desarrollo económico del puerto caribeño en la primera mitad del siglo XX. Se explora además el efecto de la llegada del Nacionalsocialismo a este grupo de inmigrantes, y la manera como los procesos políticos internacionales de finales de la década de los treinta y años posteriores, determinaron una profunda transformación en las condiciones de vida de estos extranjeros en el Caribe colombiano.

The Common Wind: Afro-American Currents in the Age of the Haitian Revolution by Julius S. Scott

Reviewed by: The Common Wind: Afro-American Currents in the Age of the Haitian Revolution by Julius S. Scott Ronald Angelo Johnson The Common Wind: Afro-American Currents in the Age of the Haitian Revolution. By Julius S. Scott. London: Verso, 2018. ISBN 978-1-78873-247-5. 272 pp. $34.95 hardcover, $24.95 paperback. Rarely have so many scholars owed as much to one historical study as they do to The Common Wind: Afro-American Currents in the Age of the Haitian Revolution. When Julius Scott completed his doctoral dissertation at Duke University in 1986, his research spurred some of the most influential works on the Age of Atlantic Revolutions over the subsequent three decades. Thirty-two years after Scott's doctoral defense, the work was formally published for the first time; reading the book now, one can see glimpses of the classic works produced upon its foundation, including books by Ada Ferrer, Jane Landers, Matthew J. Smith, Rebecca Scott, and Jean Hébrard.1 This study links life in British-, French-, and Spanish-controlled territories of the Caribbean and South America through the Haitian Revolution. In each of the five chapters of captivating storytelling, the author weaves the region's disparate languages and societal practices into a cohesive narrative of collective strides toward freedom, involving peoples of different ethnic groups. His analysis of ruling practices blurs the lines of demarcation between the colonized territories to identify "Afro-America," a region in constant protest against European economic oppression and cultural subjugation. The book emphasizes the cosmopolitan environments of Caribbean port cities to illuminate the interconnectedness among peoples under the control of the planter class across the territories. According to Scott, "Larger cities like Kingston, Cap Français, and Havana could properly be termed capitals of Afro-America. . . . [T]he growing coastal cities nurtured the most complex patterns of mobility and presented the most vexing problems of control for all the colonial powers" (15). As imperial gains expanded the economic importance of urban areas, the hustle and bustle of port cities provided safe haven for fugitive freedom seekers and attracted upwardly mobile free people of color for generations. Chapter 1 introduces readers to ventures toward greater liberty across the eighteenth century. European slaveholders, governors, and merchants believed themselves to be the "masters" of Afro-America. Yet an unquenchable desire for freedom showed itself in the ingenuity and grit of the region's marginalized inhabitants. The ubiquitous presence of involuntary bondage and its inhumane effects on the lives of the enslaved permeate Scott's narrative. Still, the hope and promise of lives beyond slavery are never far from the book's primary subjects. Musicians, maroons, and marauders, they all understood their value as human citizens. The [End Page 156] cruelties and injustices inflicted upon these populations could not dampen their spirit striving to be free. Scott focuses the reader's attention on the constant drive toward freedom demonstrated by individuals as well as groups. Prior to 1986, much of the historical scholarship published in North America about the Haitian Revolution and about European enslavement of Black people in the Atlantic World gave preference to the English-language writings of elitist, European intellectuals. The Common Wind employs the resourcefulness of marginalized peoples across the Caribbean as the historical lens through which to bring into view the injustices of the Atlantic trade system based on stolen lives and labor. Scott observes, "The activities of runaway slave communities in Jamaica did not go unnoticed in nearby Cuba, underscoring the fact that the histories of the maroon societies in the two islands in the eighteenth century were closely intertwined" (11). Across the rest of the book, the author does not segregate the Caribbean into different sectors and does not present a collection of loosely related case studies. Instead, he treats the Caribbean as the Caribbean, a cooperative system of lives and commerce linked together across different islands and territories. One of Scott's greatest contributions to the historical profession remains his revelation of "the common wind," the regional network of communication that existed in varying forms from Caracas, Venezuela, to Charleston, South Carolina. He reminds readers, "The books, newspapers, and letters which arrived with...

Estrategias para conectarse con el mundo: puertos del Caribe, redes agenciales y redes marítimas desde Valle del Cauca y Santander (Colombia) durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX

Este trabajo analiza las estrategias de los comerciantes de Santander y Valle del Cauca (Colombia) para conectarse con el mundo durante la segunda mitad del siglo XIX. El análisis parte de la hipótesis que ambas regiones no se encontraban aisladas, pese a estar lejos del mar, sino que ambas superaron esa barrera con estrategias tendientes a crear redes mercantiles nacionales e internacionales. A partir del concepto de redes mercantiles de Reinhard Liehr, identificamos: los comerciantes, la forma de conectarse a los puertos del Caribe y las redes agenciales y marítimas que construyeron. Finalmente, presentamos una comparación entre ambas regiones, la cual da cuenta de una integración comercial permanente a base de redes que eliminó el aislamiento. Las fuentes de consulta empleadas son: aduanas, manifiestos de importación, periódicos, publicaciones oficiales y registros notariales.

Efficiency, productivity and returns to scale in ports: a comparison of data envelopment analysis and econometric estimation with application to Caribbean Small Island Developing States

This paper investigates the evolutionary technical efficiency and productivity of ports in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The focus is primarily on Caribbean SIDS, benchmarked against two comparator groups: major top ports and ports in other SIDS in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Both a non-parametric data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the econometric corrected ordinary least squares (COLS) Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) model are used. The results reveal a significantly lower level of technical efficiency in the Caribbean when assessed against top ports, but higher when compared to other SIDS. Caribbean ports achieved a higher rate of productivity improvement compared to top ports, and thus partially closed the efficiency gap, but not as much as ports in other SIDS. This was primarily the result of higher returns to density due to the rising traffic levels of the latter group. Analysis of both SIDS groups against the top group revealed that there exist two “tiers” in terms of port development, with those in the first representing a level of efficiency that those in the second simply cannot match. In some respects, therefore, this “inefficiency” may be better described as port underutilization. This suggests that, for these ports, maximizing the efficient use of existing capacities, and only then considering port expansion, could be the most feasible option for improving technical efficiency in the medium to long run.

Water parameters and primary productivity at four marine embayments of Costa Rica (2000-2002)

Abstract: The availability of baseline data on water parameters and primary productivity is essential in comparative studies aimed at identifying environmental trends, like eutrophication, in coastal embayments. In this context, the objetive of this work is to make accessible data, collected from 2000 to 2002, on 13 water parameters (Secchi depth, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, oxygen saturation, suspended matter, chlorophyll-a, phaeopigments, phosphate, silicate, ammonium, nitrite and nitrate) their temporal and spatial distribution, and primary productivity at four coastal sites of Costa Rica. The multi-parameter survey was conducted based on surface (1 m deep) water samples collected at a total of 128 stations at three Pacific and one Caribbean embayments: a bay under the influence of upwelling (Culebra Bay), a tidal estuary (Gulf of Nicoya), a semi-enclosed small coastal bay bordered by mangroves (Golfito Bay), and a Caribbean bay and port (Moin Bay). Graphic distributions of stations from the four embayments and for the Gulf of Nicoya were obtained by Principal Component Analysis (PCA).PCA Gabriel biplots were used to illustrate the relative importance of each parameter on the separation of stations. The four embayments were separated by PCA based on the 13 parameters. The maximum values recorded were: Secchi depth: 12.6 m; salinity: 35 psu; temperature: 32.5 oC; oxygen: 11.4 mg/L; oxygen saturation: 188 %; suspended matter: 156.04 mg/L; chlorophyll-a: 16.21 mg/m3; phaeopigments: 6.37 mg/m3; phosphate: 9.53 µmol/L; silicate: 156.11 µmol/L; ammonium: 2.66 µmol/L; nitrite: 2.47 µmol/L; and nitrate: 4.59 µmol/L. Salinity and several nutrients varied seasonally (dry vs rainy) in the Gulf of Nicoya estuary. Estimates of net primary productivity (Winkler oxygen method) produced a maximum 2 206 g C/m2/year at Culebra Bay. The maximum net PP (g C/m2/year) at the other three embayments, were: 1 601 (Gulf of Nicoya), 1 371 (Golfito Bay), and 1 100 (Moín Bay). Net PP values showed high variability in space and time, and ranged from negative to those associated with oligotrophic, eutrophic, and hypertrophic waters. In the Gulf of Nicoya 60 % of the values of net PP exceeded the reference value (500 g C/m2/year) to separate eutrophic from hypertrophic conditions. Rev. Biol. Trop. 66(Suppl. 1): S211-S230. Epub 2018 April 01.

Capacity building for tourism and logistics: redefining the role of human resources

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the current position of human resources in Caribbean ports and how this position has impacted the development of tourism and logistics in the region.Design/methodology/approachQualitative research was used to describe the data collected from five different ports across the Caribbean. Documents and interviews were chosen because the study is limited to five ports with five senior managers.FindingsThe study shows that, on average, 20 per cent of Caribbean port workers are provided with new skills in the areas of technology, human resource development, information technology, health and safety and handling of dangerous goods and customs documentation.Practical implicationsThere is a need for a re-think among educational institutions in the Caribbean in relation to the development of human resources for the logistics and tourism industries. The implications of this study go beyond the Caribbean, given the global nature of the maritime constituency.Originality/valueThis paper draws on an MSc research project and offers directions for further research in logistics and supply chain management.

Identity, Ritual, and Power in Colonial Puebla. By Frances L. Ramos. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 2012. xiii + 247 pp. $60.00 cloth; $29.95 paper.

(ProQuest: ... denotes non-US-ASCII text omitted.)Identity, Ritual, and Power in Colonial Puebla . By Frances L. Ramos . Tucson : The University of Arizona Press , 2012. xiii + 247 pp. $60.00 cloth; $29.95 paper.Book Reviews and NotesFounded in 1531, Puebla de los Angeles was the second largest and most important Spanish urban center in colonial Mexico, only surpassed by the viceregal capital Mexico City. Strategically positioned midway between the Caribbean port of Veracruz and the capital city, Puebla soon thrived economically and demographically as a trading center integral to the Spanish Atlantic commercial network. The city stood out for its prosperous textile and ceramics industries as well as its ostentatious baroque Catholicism. In colonial Puebla, like in other urban centers in the Hispanic world, economic, political, and religious powers--the three pillars of Spanish colonialism--negotiated and contested their space. However, despite its prominence, the city entered decline in the eighteenth century, when waves of deadly epidemics ravaged its citizens and enlightened reformers raised taxes to increase imperial revenue.Frances L. Ramos's award-winning book Identity, Ritual, and Power in Colonial Puebla examines Puebla's political culture through the display of public civil and ecclesiastical ceremonies during its economic decline. The book provides a thorough analysis of the ways public spectacles of ritual contributed to the formation of a local and imperial identity and were used by colonial officials to leverage power. Ramos argues that [i]n late-seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Puebla, ritual permeated all aspects of political life. It helped councilmen legitimize church and state, cement corporate and civic identities, stimulate the local economy, develop patron-client relationships, and vie for power (xviii-xix). Borrowing from anthropologist Clifford Geertz, she further contends that public ceremonies shaped the political culture and identity of Puebla's citizens. However, Spanish colonialism was far from monolithic--Ramos illustrates how both Puebla's civil and ecclesiastical powers struggled to assert supremacy. The book ends with administrative changes brought during the apex of the Bourbon reforms in the 1760s and 1770s.The book's organization is thematic. After setting the historical context of colonial Puebla in the first chapter, the following three chapters center on various types of public ceremonies that range from royal oath ceremonies, funeral rituals, and the viceroy's entrance into Puebla to a variety of Catholic festivities. Ramos demonstrates how civil and ecclesiastical spectacles developed loyalties to the crown and to the Catholic church amidst Puebla's ethnically and socially fragmented society. For example, chapter 4, Universal Religion in a Local Context, shows how members of Puebla's cathedral chapter and cabildo (municipal council) used religious devotions to create a local as much as a trans-colonial and trans-Atlantic Catholic identity. Here, Ramos expands on William Christian's classic work Local Religion in Sixteenth-Century Spain (Princeton, N. …

Pavimentando Roraima: a BR-174 como exemplo das lógicas neoliberais de transnacionalização do território na Amazônia Ocidental

Este artigo discute a pavimentação da BR-174 na metade da década de 1990 e as suas consequências socioespaciais no estado de Roraima. O caso é apresentado como um exemplo da transformação das intervenções territoriais na Amazônia no contexto da neoliberalização do Estado e da produção de um espaço econômico transnacional. Os investimentos federais para o desenvolvimento rodoviário e infraestruturas auxiliares trouxeram conectividade sem precedentes para o estado de Roraima, além de gerar crescimento econômico. Todavia, o artigo argumenta que, além dos novos discursos de desenvolvimento regional sustentável, as lógicas dominantes dos projetos, tais como o melhoramento da BR-174, são as de um neoliberalismo em expansão transnacional, no qual o Estado empreendedor torna-se um parceiro para o estabelecimento de mercados externos mais do que o principal agente da integração do território nacional. Assim, no desenho da BR-174, Roraima aparece, principalmente, como um espaço estratégico de conexão transfronteiriça que liga a Amazônia brasileira aos portos do Caribe. Entretanto, passada mais de uma década desde a conclusão do projeto, a concentração territorial tem se aprofundado ao passo que emergem novas desigualdades socioespaciais intimamente atreladas às funções e fluxos que a integração rodoviária criou.

Contrapuntal colonialism in the Philippines

In November 1564, Miguel López de Legazpi, an official of the Spanish government in Mexico City, set sail from the west coast of Jalisco with an entourage of five ships at the request of King Philip II to establish a settlement in archipelagic East Asia. Only a decade later, Manila, New Spain’s economic, religious and cultural outpost in the Pacific, would be declared ‘insigne y siempre leal ciudad’ (noble and ever loyal city) by the king, thus solidifying its key role in Spain’s global supply chain. This city, Spain’s new colonialist enterprise, soon possessed an urban design reminiscent of Santo Domingo, San Juan or Cartagena, fortified Spanish Caribbean ports of the 16th century, yet had a social profile more akin to the viceregal capital, Mexico City, on account of the vibrancy of the local population’s ethnic and linguistic diversity. As in Mexico, musical activity in the Philippines counted as a performative aspect of colonial interaction, with European musical practices being imposed by both religious and civic institutions.