Douglas Hall (historian)

Douglas Gordon Hawkins Hall
Born
Douglas Gordon Hawkins Hall

(1920-12-20)20 December 1920[1]
Kingston, Jamaica
Died23 November 1999(1999-11-23) (aged 78)
Darliston, Westmoreland, Jamaica[2]
Alma materUniversity of Toronto and London School of Economics
Occupationacademic historian
Known foreconomic history of the Caribbean

Douglas Hall (20 December 1920 – 23 November 1999) was a Jamaican historian, academic and scholar. He was known internationally for his studies and writings on the economic history of the Caribbean.[3][4]

Early life

Hall was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on December 20, 1920, and attended Jamaica College where he won a gold medal in athletics.

As a 19 year old he was one of 5 Jamaican teenagers "the Lost Boys" who came close to death after being lost for 10 days in heavily forested terrain while trying to scale The Blue Mountains, Jamaica's longest mountain range.[5]

He attended the University of Toronto in 1941 and completed his Master of Science in economics at Toronto in 1946. [6]

During the Second World War he enlisted in the 1st Battalion of the 48th Highlanders of Canada on December 30, 1943, as a private. He saw active service in North Africa and Italy and ultimately attained the rank of Corporal on May 25, 1944.[7]

After obtaining his Masters of Science he completed his PHD in History at the London School of Economics. His thesis was published as "Free Jamaica, 1838-1865: An Economic History" by the Yale University Press in 1959. It was the first detailed treatment of the Jamaican economy during the period 1838-1865 and was the first to be based on original manuscript sources in the Public Records Office. [6] [8]

Corporal Douglas Hall 1944 48th Highlander Regiment

Academic career

Hall joined the staff of the then University College of the West Indies in 1954 as a Tutor for the Leeward Islands. In 1957 he went to Jamaica as Resident Tutor at the University of the West Indies. He taught economic history in the Department of Economics between 1959 and 1961.

In 1961 he joined the Department of History as a Lecturer and was appointed Professor of History and Head of the Department in 1963.[6] He retired in 1981 becoming a Professor Emeritus of History at the University.

He was awarded The Norman Washington Manley Award for Excellence in 1999 an annual award presented to Jamaicans who have provided distinguished service to their country, often honoring outstanding contributions to national development in fields such as history, law, and politics.[9]

His article 'The Flight from the Estates Reconsidered: The British West Indies, 1838–1842', reprinted in Caribbean Freedom, ed. Beckles and Sheperd, 55–64 was described as "the classic article on evictions from the estates".[10]

An entire issue of The Journal of Caribbean History (JCH), a double-blind peer-reviewed journal produced by the Department of History, The University of the West Indies, the 2001 Volume 35 Issue 1, was dedicated to Hall. The JCH issue collected and reproduced a number of Hall's important articles and included an article by an eminent historian describing Hall's contribution to West Indian economic and social history.[11][12][13]

Publications

  • Douglas Hall (1953) "Sir Charles Metcalfe: Governor of Jamaica September 1839 to May 1842" Caribbean Quarterly, 3 pp 90 – 100.[14]
  • Douglas Hall (1953)"The Apprenticeship Period in Jamaica, 1834 - 1838", Caribbean Quarterly, 3 pp 142 – 166.[15]
  • Douglas Hall (1954) "The Social and Economic Background to Sugar in Slave Days", Caribbean Historical Review, 3/4 (1954) 149 -169.[16]
  • Douglas Hall (1964) "Absentee Proprietorship in the British West Indies, to about 1850" , Jamaican Historical Review, 4 pp. 15–35 republished (2000) in The Journal of Caribbean History Vol. 35, Iss: 1, pp 97, University of West Indies Press[17][18][19]
  • Douglas Hall (1961) "Incalculability as a feature of sugar production during the eighteenth century",Social and Economic Studies, IO pp 340 – 352: republished in (2000) The Journal of Caribbean History Vol. 35, Iss: 1, pp 80–96 University of West Indies Press.[20]
  • Douglas Hall (2000) "People in Slavery" The Journal of Caribbean History Vol. 35, Iss: 1, pp 122–138, University of West Indies Press[21]
  • Douglas Hall (with Sidney Mintz) (1960)"The Origins of the Jamaican Internal Marketing System" , Yale University Publications in Anthropology, No. 57 pp 3 – 26.[22]
  • Douglas Hall "Slaves and Slavery in the British West Indies", Social and Economic Studies, (1962) 11, pp 305 – 318.[23]
  • Douglas Hart (1968) "The Colonial Legacy in Jamaica", New World Quarterly, 4 (High Season) 7 - 22. Revised version published as "The Ex-Colonial Society in Jamaica", in Emanuel de Kadt (ed.), Patterns of Foreign Influence in the Caribbean (Oxford University Press, for the Royal Institute for International Affairs, 1972), pp. 32 – 48.[24]
  • Douglas Hall "Jamaica" in David W. Cohen and Jack P. Greene (eds.), "Neither Slave Nor Free. The Freedmen of African Descent in the Slave Societies of the New World" (Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1972), pp. 193 – 213.ISBN 978-0801816475[25][26]
  • Douglas Hall (1972) "Independent Jamaica Ten Years after 1962", Jamaica Journal, 6 (4) 2 - 3.[27]
  • Douglas Hall (1974–75) "Bountied European Immigration into Jamaica with Special Reference to the German Settlement of Seaford Town up to 1850" , Jamaica Journal, 8 (4) pp 48 – 54, and 9 (1) pp 2 – 9.[28]
  • Douglas Hall (1978) "The Flight from the Estates Reconsidered: The British West Indies, 1838 - 1842" , Journal of Caribbean History, 10/11 pp 7 – 24 reprinted in (1993) "Caribbean Freedom, Economy and Society from Emancipation to the Present" , ed. Beckles and Shepherd, pp 55–64, Currey, London ISBN 9768100176[29]
  • Douglas Hall (1983) "Trade, government, and society in Caribbean history, 1700-1920 : essays presented to Douglas Hall" Kingston, Jamaica, W.I. : Heinemann Educational Books Caribbean.[30]

Books

  • Douglas Hall (1971) Five of the Leewards London, England, Ginn and Company Ltd. ISBN 9780602215873[31]
  • Douglas Hall (1999) In Miserable Slavery: Thomas Thistlewood in Jamaica 1750-1786. USA: University of West Indies Press. ISBN 9789766400668[32][33][34][35][36]
  • Douglas Hall (1959) “Free Jamaica, 1838-1865: An Economic History” Yale University Press; reprinted 1970, 1990 ISBN 0602215668[8][37][38][39]
  • Douglas Hall (1993) "Grace, Kennedy and Company Ltd. A Story of Jamaican Enterprise". ISBN 9768017155[40]
  • Douglas Hall (1982) "The Caribbean Experience : An Historical Survey, 1450-1960 Kingston, Jamaica": Heinemann Educational Books, ISBN 0435983008[41]
  • Douglas Hall (with F.R. Augier, S.C. Gordon and M. Reckord)(1960) "The Making of the West Indies" (London:Longmans.)ISBN 0582763045[42]
  • Douglas Hall (1963)" Letters from Monville" , Jamaica: Ministry of Education, Publications Branch.
  • Douglas Hall (1964) "Ideas and Illustrations in Economic History" , New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston ASIN B0000CM8TW[43][44]
  • Douglas Hall (1971) "A Brief History of the West India Committee" , Caribbean Universities Press, Barbados ISBN 0-85474-000-7[45][46]

Hall was the Series Editor of the UWI Press Biography Series[47] and the editor of the following biographies: "A Man Divided M. G. Smith", University of West Indies Press, 1997 ISBN 9766400342;[48] "Law, Justice and Empire: The Colonial Career of John Gorrie 1829-1892" by Bridget Brereton ISBN 9766400350; "White Rebel: The Life and Times of T. T. Lewis" by Gary Lewis ISBN 9766400431 and "Bechu: 'Bound Coolie' Radical in British Guiana 1894-1901" by Clem Seecharan.ISBN 9789766400712

He died on 23 November 1999. After his death in commemoration of Hall's "pioneer work" the University of the West Indies Mona established in 2001 the Douglas Hall Chair in History.[49]

References

  1. ↑ "Eberall Hall and Tayler - Genealogical Reports". Jamaicanfamilysearch.com. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. ↑ Sheridan, Richard B. "Professor Douglas Gordon Hawkins Hall and the Writing of West Indian Economic and Social History". Proquest.com.
  3. ↑ "Bridget Brereton: A Life in History". The Journal of Caribbean History. p. 59. Archived from the original on 2025-08-11.
  4. ↑ "CARICOM COMMUNITY MOURNS PASSING OF PROFESSOR DOUGLAS HALL - CARICOM". Archived from the original on 2026-04-28. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  5. ↑ "Last 'lost lad' passes on". 12 February 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 "Douglas Hall".
  7. ↑ "Cpl Hall, Douglas Gordon Hawkins – 48th Highlanders Museum Online". Museum.48thhighlanders.ca. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  8. 1 2 Curtin, Philip D. (1960). "Reviewed work: Free Jamaica 1838-1865. Yale Caribbean Series, 1, Douglas Hall". Social and Economic Studies. 9 (2): 253–256. JSTOR 27853579.
  9. ↑ "The Norman Washington Manley Award for Excellence 1999 - ProQuest". Proquest.com. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  10. ↑ "The Big Disappointment. The economic consequences of the abolition of slavery in the Caribbean, 1833-1888". Archives.history.ac.uk. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  11. ↑ "Journal of Caribbean History". Uwipress.com. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  12. ↑ Professor "Douglas Gordon Hawkins Hall and the writing of West Indian Caribbean History" Sheridan, Richard B. 2001, The journal of Caribbean History, The journal of Caribbean history (Vol. 35, No. 1 (2001), p. 40-65,)
  13. ↑ "Professor Douglas Gordon Hawkins Hall and the Writing of West Indian Economic and Social History - ProQuest". Proquest.com. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  14. ↑ "Details for: Sir Charles Metcalfe : Governor of Jamaica September 1839 to May 1842 /  › National Library of Jamaica catalog". Jamcatalogue.org. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  15. ↑ "The Apprenticeship Period In Jamaica, 1834-1838 on JSTOR". Archived from the original on 2019-11-09. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  16. ↑ Sidney Mintz (1959) "Labor and Sugar in Puerto Rico and in Jamaica, 1800-1850", Comparative Studies in Society and History, Vol. 1, No. 3 , pp. 273-281 at p 281
  17. ↑ "Absentee Proprietorship in the British West Indies, to about 1850". Scispace.com. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  18. ↑ Nicholas Draper "The Price of Emancipation: Slave-Ownership, Compensation and British Society at the End of Slavery" Cambridge University Press p.8. ISBN 978-0-521-11525-4
  19. ↑ "The Price of Emancipation" (PDF). p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2022-12-07.
  20. ↑ "Incalculability as a feature of sugar production during the eighteenth century". Scispace.com. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  21. ↑ "People in slavery". Scispace.com. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  22. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2024-07-11.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  23. ↑ Hall, Douglas (1962). "Slaves and Slavery in the British West Indies". Social and Economic Studies. 11 (4): 305–318 – via JSTOR.
  24. ↑ "ARTICLES: THE COLONIAL LEGACY IN JAMAICA - New World Journal". Archived from the original on 2019-09-20. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  25. ↑ Book Review in Journal of American History, Volume 60, Issue 4, March 1974, Pages 1116–1117
  26. ↑ "Neither Slave Nor Free: The Freedman of African Descent in the Slave Societies of the New World. Ed. by David W. Cohen and Jack P. Greene. (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1972. xi + 344 pp. Chart, tables, appendix, notes, bibliographical notes, and index. $13.50.) | Journal of American History". Academic.oup.com. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  27. ↑ Ian Kinane (2021). Ian Fleming and the Politics of Ambivalence. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 205. ISBN 9781350128972.
  28. ↑ "Jamaica Gleaner News - The arrival of the Germans (Part 2) - News - Friday | October 2, 2009". Old.jamaica-gleaner.com. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  29. ↑ "Caribbean Freedom: Economy and Society from Emancipation To The Present | A Student Reader [1st american ed.] 1558761284, 9781558761285 - DOKUMEN.PUB". Archived from the original on 2026-04-30. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  30. ↑ "Trade, government, and society in Caribbean history, 1700-1920 : essays presented to Douglas Hall". Searchworks.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  31. ↑ "Caribbean Man in Space and Time | Small Axe | Duke University Press". Archived from the original on 2022-05-30. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  32. ↑ Onfroy, Ashleigh C. (29 October 2024). "In Miserable Slavery: Thomas Thistlewood in Jamaica 1750-86". World History Encyclopedia.
  33. ↑ "D. Hall, "In Miserable Slavery" (Book Review) - ProQuest". Proquest.com. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  34. ↑ ROBERTSON, JAMES (2006). "" The best poor man's country"? Thomas Thistlewood in eighteenth-century Jamaica". Caribbean Quarterly. 52 (4): 74–84 – via JSTOR.
  35. ↑ "Dead Bodies, 2004-2005". Ouci.dntb.gov.ua. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  36. ↑ "Thistlewood's Diary: Slavery in Jamaica | PDF | Slavery | Jamaica". Scribd.com. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  37. ↑ "Free Jamaica, 1838-1865. An Economic History | Hispanic American Historical Review | Duke University Press". Archived from the original on 2023-02-12. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  38. ↑ "British West Indies" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-02-28.
  39. ↑ Timothy Holt. British West Indies (PDF). University of Pittsburgh Press. p. 10.
  40. ↑ "Depression to Decolonization : Barclays Bank (DCO) in the West Indies, 1926-1962 [1 ed.] 9789766401986". Dokumen.pub.
  41. ↑ "Details for: The Caribbean Experience : An Historical Survey, 1450-1960 /  › Portmore Community College Library catalog". Jamcatalogue.org. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  42. ↑ "The making of the West Indies / FR Augier, SC Gordon, DG Hall... [et al.] Augier, Fitzroy Richard (Sir) (1924-....); Gordon Shirley C. 1920-2006; Hall Douglas G.; Reckord". Kolibris.univ-antilles.fr. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  43. ↑ "Reviewed Work: Ideas and Illustrations in Economic History Douglas Hall; Review by: Z. M. Fallenbuchl". Caribbean Studies. 6 (3): 63–65. October 1966.
  44. ↑ Reviewed Work: Ideas and Illustrations in Economic History Douglas Hall by Z. M. Fallenbuchl Journal of Caribbean Studies Vol. 6, No. 3 (Oct., 1966), pp. 63-65
  45. ↑ David Lambert and Alan Lester (2004) "Geographies of colonial philanthropy" Progress of Human Geography Volume 28, Issue 3, pp 320-341
  46. ↑ "Geographies of colonial philanthropy - ProQuest" (PDF). Proquest.com. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  47. ↑ "Douglas Hall | Open Library". Openlibrary.org. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  48. ↑ Hall, Douglas (1997). A Man Divided: Michael Garfield Smith : Jamaican Poet and Anthropologist, 1921-1993. Press University of the West Indies. ISBN 978-976-640-034-7.
  49. ↑ "FACULTY OF ARTS & EDUCATION, MONA" (PDF). Mona.uwi.edu. 2001-07-31. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
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