The Island that Disappeared, Tom Feiling
The Island that Disappeared, Tom Feiling
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The Island that Disappeared
The Lost History of the Mayflower's Sister Ship and Its Rival Puritan Colony

Author: Tom Feiling

Narrator: Shaun Grindell

Unabridged: 14 hr 52 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/29/2018


Synopsis

The creation myth of the United States begins with the plucky English puritans of the Mayflower—but what about the story of its sister ship, the Seaflower?

Few people today know the story of the passengers aboard the Seaflower, who in 1630 founded a rival puritan colony on an isolated Caribbean island called Providence. They were convinced that England's empire would rise not in barren New England, but rather in tropical Central America.

However, Providence became a colony in constant crisis: crops failed, slaves revolted . . . and then there were the pirates. And, as Tom Feiling discovers in this surprising history, the same drama was played out by the men and women who re-settled the island one hundred years later.

The Island That Disappeared presents Providence as a fascinating microcosm of colonialism—even today. At first glance it is an island of devout churchgoers—but look a little closer, and you see that it is still dependent on its smugglers.

At once intimate and global, this story of puritans and pirates goes to the heart of the contradictory nature of the Caribbean and how the Western World took shape.

About Tom Feiling

Tom Feiling is a writer, journalist, award-winning documentary filmmaker, and the author of two highly acclaimed books: The Candy Machine: How Cocaine Took Over the World and Short Walks from Bogota: Journeys in the New Colombia. He lives in London.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Mike

This book is like others that I have read over the last couple of years. It starts with an interesting premise and then changes to something else. The information on the jacket was designed to hook people in. It did not mention that the author would run out of information 2/3 of the way through and......more

Rough. Felt like it took forever. Didn’t flow chronologically well; all over the place. Too much dry detail. Nice idea but then he goes into the minute history of the place. Neat to learn about Henry Morgan tho......more

Goodreads review by Nancy

Very text-bookish but interesting.......more

Goodreads review by Matt

This book is basically 2/3 history of Providence (not the one you're thinking about) and 1/3 travelogue. I have to say that the travelogue part of the book (parts of Part 3 and towards the end) is much more successful. Feiling has a way with describing his travel that draws a pretty vivid picture, w......more