Description:
A Fortified Sea offers a sweeping, multidisciplinary exploration of how military forts shaped the geopolitical and cultural landscape of the eighteenth-century Caribbean. Edited by Pedro Luengo, this landmark collection brings together Spanish, British, and American historiographical traditions to reveal how rival empires built, expanded, and defended their Caribbean holdings through networks of coastal fortifications. With case studies spanning major strategic ports--Havana, Cartagena de Indias, Santiago de Cuba, Veracruz, and more--the volume illustrates how fort architecture, engineering, warfare, and local community engagement intersected in one of the world's most contested maritime regions. Rich with archival insight and period maps, A Fortified Sea reframes the Caribbean as a dynamic military borderland central to global imperial expansion.
Review Quotes:
"A Fortified Sea focuses on fortifications as a site to examine imperial rivalries and contested spaces in the greater Caribbean. More importantly, the multilingual, transnational body of scholars involved in this edition is truly impressive. . . it is an ambitious work!" --Sharika Crawford, author of The Last Turtlemen of the Caribbean: Waterscapes of Labor, Conservation, and Boundary Making
"This volume will be especially useful to experts on Caribbean naval engagements and scholars at the intersection of art history, archaeology, and military history."--The Americas