Black Labor Migration in Caribbean Guatemala, 1882-1923

“A welcome contribution both because Caribbean coast laborers have received relatively little attention and because Opie does such an excellent job of placing black migrants at the center of Guatemalan and Caribbean history.”—Labor

“This book makes a valuable contribution to the study of the black immigrant workers of Guatemala.”—Mesoamérica

“A significant contribution that enriches historical narratives. This is a wonderful case study that complicates Latin American history, and particularly labor history in that region, by emphasizing the positive role played by black migrants in labor mobilization in Guatemala—Jean Muteba Rahier, Florida International University

In the late nineteenth century, many Central American governments and countries sought to fill low-paying jobs and develop their economies by recruiting black American and West Indian laborers. Frederick Opie offers a revisionist interpretation of these workers, who were often depicted as simple victims with little, if any, enduring legacy