The Silver Men

by Velma Newton

"It is generally known that emigrants from the British West Indies provided much of the labour needed to construct the Panama Railroad during the 1850s and the Panama Canal between 1881 and 1914. However, no comprehensive study of the background against which the movement took place, the numbers involved, the conditions under which the emigrants had to labour under the Isthmus, and the effects of emigration on the West Indian islands and Panama has been published. This study highlights the role of West Indians in building the Panama Railroad and Canal to link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. It also shows that migration to Panama had more far-reaching demographic and economic consequences on the British West Indies than is generally realised and that the movement contributed to the still popular conception of extra-regional migration as one of the best avenues to economic and social betterment. It also examines the social position of Panamanians of West Indian descent and concludes that their assimilation was still not complete, even up to the end of the 20th century. "

232 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2000

Reviews

[Jennifer Gómez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un gran trabajo de investigación académica sobre las migraciones afroantillanas al Istmo de Panamá, pero por falta de curaduría literaria tiene muchos saltos en el tiempo y carece de un hilo conductor, lo cual tiende en ocasiones a caer en redundancias.
Sin embargo, la cantidad de datos estadísticos sobre la causa de muchos fenómenos sociales, hacen de esta una obra imprescindible para comprender nuestra historia común.

[Ellen Tillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Research is very good and the information is great and well organized.
It is a very dry read to read through, however.

[Caro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Velma Newton es una barbadense cuyos padres de origen antillano, emigraron a Panamá durante la construcción del Canal, y se sintió en la obligación de hacer una exhaustiva exploración acerca de este trascendental capítulo de la historia desde la perspectiva antillana. Puede resultar ser un poco tedioso de leer porque no es el típico relato literario, sino más bien, un libro documental con información técnica y estadística, pero indudablemente también provechosa para los amantes de historia, y para todos aquellos que desean indagar más acerca del impacto cultural y demográfico que tuvo el Canal de Panamá en el mundo.