The West Indies and the Spanish Main

"The West Indies and the Spanish Main" by James Rodway is a historical narrative focused on the dramatic story of the Caribbean. The book exposes the collisions between European colonizers and native inhabitants, driven by European countries' greedy desires for wealth and power. It starts by showing the alluring landscapes of the islands and then explains the early, harsh meetings between Spanish explorers and the Arawak and Carib people. It then goes on to cover the exploitation faced by the native people, their populations lowered by the Spanish desire for gold. Rodway foreshadows the upcoming fights between European nations as they fight for control of a region, marked by both natural elegance and bloody violence.