Professor Woodville Marshall’s ‘Near a Plantation’ Wins 2025 Elsa Goveia Memorial Book Prize

by July 23, 2025

The University of the West Indies Press (UWI Press) is pleased to announce that one of its publications, “Near a Plantation: Free Villages of Barbados, 1840-1945” by Professor Emeritus Sir Woodville Marshall has received the 2025 Elsa Goveia Memorial Book Prize. This biennial award, presented by the Association of Caribbean Historians, recognises notable contributions to Caribbean history. The announcement was made in June during the 56th Annual Conference of the Association.

 

“Near a Plantation” by Woodville Marshall explores post-slavery Barbados, challenging common assumptions about the lives of former slaves. Through detailed research, Marshall reveals how ex-slaves overcame obstacles to acquire land, leading to the growth of free villages. Despite plantation owners’ dominance, some former slaves negotiated or purchased land, driving social mobility and modernization in Barbadian society. This book offers new insights into Caribbean history, making it valuable for scholars and history enthusiasts.

Director of the UWI Press, Christine A. Randle, said, “We congratulate our author, Professor Woodville Marshall on this capstone of his illustrious career. “Near a Plantation” adds to the UWI Press’s rich legacy as a Caribbean publisher with a strong track record of outstanding scholarly works by regional researchers.”

Professor Emeritus Sir Woodville Marshall, shared, “I feel honoured to have won the prize, particularly because it is likely to be my last scholarly contribution.  The book has importance because, in filling a gap in the story of post-slavery ownership of small lots of land by the emancipated, it demonstrates that previous commentators had not looked closely, if at all, at the available documentation. “

 

Copies of “Near a Plantation” are available for purchase at www.uwipress.com. For ordering inquiries, examination or review copies, or to request an interview with the author, please contact uwipress.mktg@uwimona.edu.jm.