Presenters on the maritime history of St. Barths and contemporary global challenges are scheduled for July at the Caribbean Genealogy Library. The two lectures include:
Dr. Felicia Fricke is a British/Dutch scholar who will share her recent research on the maritime history of St. Barths, French West Indies.
Also, Prof. Max Hilaire, a renowned international scholar, will talk about current global issues including mass migration, refugees, internal armed conflicts, and great power rivalry.
Presenter: Felicia Fricke, Ph.D.
Event: The Bigards of St. Barths: A Maritime Family
Time/Date: July 6, 2024 at 2 p.m. (AT)
Length: 40-minute lecture, followed by Q&A
Method of Attending: Virtual Only, via Zoom.
Cost: Free for members; and $5 for non-members.
Current members will receive a link to join the Zoom meeting, the day before the event.
Non-members can purchase a ticket for Zoom attendance from the Caribbean Genealogy Library event page.
About the Presentation:
Who were the people who lived in Gustavia, St. Barths, in the early 1800s? Many of them came from merchant or sailing families and were the important links between St. Barths and the surrounding islands. In this presentation, Felicia Fricke Ph.D. (University of Copenhagen) will discuss one of these families, the Bigards. Much previous historical work on trade networks and sailing communities in the Caribbean has focused on the 1700s and on larger islands and empires. However, recently scholars have become more interested in trade relations between the smaller islands and in the imperial powers of Northern Europe.
Fricke’s work is part of this trend, but it also contributes a new focus on the maritime family that gives a human face to these trade networks. Using shipping data from newspapers, it puts the French Caribbean Bigard family into the larger trade context to assess their reach and impact. It also uses manuscript sources to complicate the internal workings of the family network, providing an intimate picture of early 1800s small island trade that is grounded in the agency of the maritime family.
About the Speaker:
Felicia Fricke is a British/Dutch scholar with Dutch Caribbean family ties. She has a Ph.D. (University of Kent, 2019) in the archaeology, osteology and oral history of enslaved lifeways in the Dutch Caribbean. Her book “Slaafgemaakt: Rethinking Enslavement in the Dutch Caribbean (Common Ground Research Networks, 2020)” presents her doctoral research results for a general audience. She has also published journal articles and book chapters in English, Dutch and Papiamentu.
Her current research in the ‘IN THE SAME SEA’ history project at the University of Copenhagen explores interisland connections in the Lesser Antilles in the early 19th century, particularly how rumor, trade and print culture helped to create this region as a social space.
These topics align with her enduring interest in examining the pressures placed on individuals by power imbalances and exploitation, and in exploring creativity and resilience in the face of overwhelming odds.
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Event: An Afternoon with Professor and Author Max Hilaire
Time/Date: July 13, 2024 at 2 p.m.
Length: 1-hour lecture, followed by 30-minute Q&A
Methods of Attending: This is an in-person lecture and book signing. Attend in person at the Caribbean Genealogy Library. The event also has a virtual option via Zoom.
Cost: Free for members and $5 for non-members.
Current members can attend in person or attend via Zoom – a link to join the Zoom meeting will be sent to current members the day before the event.
Non-members attending in person will pay at the door. And non-members attending virtually can purchase a ticket for Zoom attendance from the Caribbean Genealogy Library event page.
About the Presentation:
Professor Max Hilaire, a renowned international scholar, will discuss his most recent book “International Law and Contemporary Global Challenges.” Join Hilaire for an engaging discussion on current global issues including climate change, mass migration, refugees, internal armed conflicts, great power rivalry and regional political instability.
Max Hilaire was born on the island of Dominica, grew up the U.S. Virgin Islands, started his career in academia at the College of the Virgin Islands (now the University of the Virgin Islands) and received his BA from Morgan State University.
He holds MA, MPhil and Ph.D. degrees in International Law and International Relations from Columbia University. Hilaire is a two-time Fulbright Scholar (Nigeria and the Czech Republic) and a public diplomacy speaker for the State Department in several countries. He has taught and lectured in over 50 countries and over 75 universities.
About Professor Hilaire’s book “International Law and Contemporary Global Challenges”:
This book sheds light on the most pressing global challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. It examines in detail contemporary international issues such as climate change, mass migration, refugees, internal armed conflicts, great power rivalry and regional political instability. It also underscores the increasing inability of the Westphalian model to solve complex transnational problems and calls for a new approach.
Book Availability and Signing
Books will be available for purchase and signing at the library event. Payment for books purchased at the event can be made via PayPal, CashApp, Cash, or Check. The price is $45.The book can also be purchased online.
Help CGL Spread the Word: If you know someone who would be interested in attending either event, please share the CGL event page with them: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/caribbeangenealogylibrary.
