Race and often biologized conceptions of ethnicity have been potent faclors in the making of the Americas. They were so, more often than not in the most blatant forms of racism and racial antagonism, throughout the centuries of post-Columbian exploration and colonization. They remain crucial factors in the contemporary Americas, even if far more ambiguously than before. This collection of essays addresses the workings of ethnicity in a pan of the Americas where, from the early days of empire through today's post-colonial limbo, this phenomenon has arguably remained in the center of public society as well as private life. The essays deal with various parts of the Caribbean and cover various periods of its history. Both the variety of themes and periods discussed and the authors’ interest in providing a comparative perspective to their contributions are in line with the intellectual explorations of the Dutch scholar for whom these essays were written, Professor Harry Hoetink.

Ethnicity is a central theme in the scholarly writings of Harry Hoetink. from his early work on preindustrial Curaçao through his seminal studies on slavery and race relations in the Caribbean and the Americas at large 10 his later work. His early comparative work on race relations was characterized not only by theoretical sophistication, but equally by a subtle inclusion of his own experiences in the region. Both his 1962 De gespleten samenleving in het Caraïbisch gebied, translated as The Two Variants in Caribbean Race Relations (1967). and Slavery (/I/d Race Relatiolls in the Americas (1973) were highly acclaimed studies. The reference.s made to the conceptual retlections and tools developed in thcse books by the contributors to the present collection testify to the continuing relevance of Hoetink’ s work for the analysis of ethnicity in the present-day Americas.

Slavery and race relations

In The Two V(/riunts in Caribbeall Race Relations as well as Slaverv and RucI’ Rdations i/1 the Americas. Hoetink questioned many commonplaces from the prevailing sociological analyses of ‘race relations’ in the Americas, ,md introduced fresh insights into this field of study. Two of these contributions should be summarized, both to put Hoetink's work into proper perspective and to help the reader of this collection in appreciating the use made of these concepts by authors in this book.