Dying to better themselves : West Indians and the building of the Panama Canal / Olive Senior.

The epic story of the involvement of the tiny islands of the West Indies in providing the work force for the construction of the Panama Canal (1904-1914) and before that, the Panama Railroad (1850-1855), and the French attempt under de Lesseps to build the Panama Canal (1881-1889). Written by a West...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Senior, Olive
Corporate Author: University of the West Indies (Mona, Jamaica). Press
Language:English
Published: Kingston, Jamaica : The University of the West Indies Press, 2014.
Subjects:
Panama Railroad Co. > History.
Migrant labor > Latin America.
Migrant labor > West Indies.
West Indians > Panama > History.
Panama Canal (Panama) > History.
Physical Description:xxiii, 416 pages : illustrations, maps ; 26 cm
Format: Book
Contents:
  • 1. "To shrink the world by half".
  • Part 1. The Panama Railroad. 2. The Panama Railroad, 1849-1855.
  • Part 2. The French canal. 3. The French canal, 1881-1904.
  • Part 3. The US construction of the Panama Canal, 1904-1914. 4. Who went, how and why
  • 5. What they endured, 1904-1907
  • 6. The work they did there, 1904-1914
  • 7. The lives they lived, 1904-1914
  • 8. How they loved, laughed and prayed.
  • Part 4. The Post-construction years and the return home. 9. Life in Panama after construction ended
  • 10. What they brought back home.