The Great Hurricane of 1780


Book Description

"The Great Hurricane of 1780," also known as Hurricane San Calixto II, is one of the most powerful and deadliest North Atlantic hurricanes on record. Often regarded as a cataclysmic hurricane, the storm's worst effects were experienced on October 10, 1780. In "The Great Hurricane of 1780," author Wayne Neely chronicles the chaos and destruction it brought to the Caribbean. This storm was likely generated in the mid Atlantic, not far from the equator; it was first felt in Barbados, where just about every tree and house on the island was blown down. The storm passed through the Lesser Antilles and a small portion of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean between October 10 and October 16 of 1780.Because the storm hit several of the most populous islands in the Caribbean, the death toll was very high. The official death toll was approximately 22,000 people but some historians have put the death toll as high as 27,500. Specifics on the hurricane's track and strength are unclear since the official North Atlantic hurricane database only goes back as far as 1851. Even so, it is a fact that this hurricane had a tremendous impact on economies in the Caribbean and parts of North America, and perhaps also played a major role in the outcome of the American Revolution. This thoroughly researched history considers the intense storm and its aftermath, offering an exploration of an important historical weather event that has been neglected in previous study.




The Great Hurricane of 1780


Book Description

The Great Hurricane of 1780, also known as Hurricane San Calixto II, is one of the most powerful and deadliest North Atlantic hurricanes on record. Often regarded as a cataclysmic hurricane, the storm's worst effects were experienced on October 10, 1780. In The Great Hurricane of 1780, author Wayne Neely chronicles the chaos and destruction it brought to the Caribbean. This storm was likely generated in the mid Atlantic, not far from the equator; it was first felt in Barbados, where just about every tree and house on the island was blown down. The storm passed through the Lesser Antilles and a small portion of the Greater Antilles in the Caribbean between October 10 and October 16 of 1780.Because the storm hit several of the most populous islands in the Caribbean, the death toll was very high. The official death toll was approximately 22,000 people but some historians have put the death toll as high as 27,500. Specifics on the hurricane's track and strength are unclear since the official North Atlantic hurricane database only goes back as far as 1851. Even so, it is a fact that this hurricane had a tremendous impact on economies in the Caribbean and parts of North America, and perhaps also played a major role in the outcome of the American Revolution. This thoroughly researched history considers the intense storm and its aftermath, offering an exploration of an important historical weather event that has been neglected in previous study.




In the Hurricane's Eye


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER "Nathaniel Philbrick is a masterly storyteller. Here he seeks to elevate the naval battles between the French and British to a central place in the history of the American Revolution. He succeeds, marvelously."--The New York Times Book Review The thrilling story of the year that won the Revolutionary War from the New York Times bestselling author of In the Heart of the Sea and Mayflower. In the concluding volume of his acclaimed American Revolution series, Nathaniel Philbrick tells the thrilling story of the year that won the Revolutionary War. In the fall of 1780, after five frustrating years of war, George Washington had come to realize that the only way to defeat the British Empire was with the help of the French navy. But coordinating his army's movements with those of a fleet of warships based thousands of miles away was next to impossible. And then, on September 5, 1781, the impossible happened. Recognized today as one of the most important naval engagements in the history of the world, the Battle of the Chesapeake—fought without a single American ship—made the subsequent victory of the Americans at Yorktown a virtual inevitability. A riveting and wide-ranging story, full of dramatic, unexpected turns, In the Hurricane's Eye reveals that the fate of the American Revolution depended, in the end, on Washington and the sea.




Hurricanes and Society in the British Greater Caribbean, 1624–1783


Book Description

Hurricanes created unique challenges for the colonists in the British Greater Caribbean during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. These storms were entirely new to European settlers and quickly became the most feared part of their physical environment, destroying staple crops and provisions, leveling plantations and towns, disrupting shipping and trade, and resulting in major economic losses for planters and widespread privation for slaves. In this study, Matthew Mulcahy examines how colonists made sense of hurricanes, how they recovered from them, and the role of the storms in shaping the development of the region's colonial settlements. Hurricanes and Society in the British Greater Caribbean, 1624–1783 provides a useful new perspective on several topics including colonial science, the plantation economy, slavery, and public and private charity. By integrating the West Indies into the larger story of British Atlantic colonization, Mulcahy's work contributes to early American history, Atlantic history, environmental history, and the growing field of disaster studies.




A Furious Sky


Book Description

Weaving together tales of tragedy and folly, of heroism and scientific progress, best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin shows how hurricanes have time and again determined the course of American history, from the nameless storms that threatened the New World voyages to our own era of global warming and megastorms. Along the way, Dolin introduces a rich cast of unlikely heroes, and forces us to reckon with the reality that future storms will likely be worse, unless we reimagine our relationship with the planet.




Shaky Colonialism


Book Description

Contemporary natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina are quickly followed by disagreements about whether and how communities should be rebuilt, whether political leaders represent the community’s best interests, and whether the devastation could have been prevented. Shaky Colonialism demonstrates that many of the same issues animated the aftermath of disasters more than 250 years ago. On October 28, 1746, a massive earthquake ravaged Lima, a bustling city of 50,000, capital of the Peruvian Viceroyalty, and the heart of Spain’s territories in South America. Half an hour later, a tsunami destroyed the nearby port of Callao. The earthquake-tsunami demolished churches and major buildings, damaged food and water supplies, and suspended normal social codes, throwing people of different social classes together and prompting widespread chaos. In Shaky Colonialism, Charles F. Walker examines reactions to the catastrophe, the Viceroy’s plans to rebuild the city, and the opposition he encountered from the Church, the Spanish Crown, and Lima’s multiracial population. Through his ambitious rebuilding plan, the Viceroy sought to assert the power of the colonial state over the Church, the upper classes, and other groups. Agreeing with most inhabitants of the fervently Catholic city that the earthquake-tsunami was a manifestation of God’s wrath for Lima’s decadent ways, he hoped to reign in the city’s baroque excesses and to tame the city’s notoriously independent women. To his great surprise, almost everyone objected to his plan, sparking widespread debate about political power and urbanism. Illuminating the shaky foundations of Spanish control in Lima, Walker describes the latent conflicts—about class, race, gender, religion, and the very definition of an ordered society—brought to the fore by the earthquake-tsunami of 1746.




The Major Hurricanes to Affect the Bahamas


Book Description

The Major Hurricanes to Affect The Bahamas-Personal recollections of some of the Greatest storms to affect the Bahamas-highlights historical Hurricanes that have impacted the Bahamas and because of last year's record breaking Hurricane season and the record breaking damages that these hurricanes have inflicted to us here in The Bahamas and the region as a whole it is a very timely book. Through vivid pictures of actual damages from these storms of the past and present day, it shows the damages that these storms have inflicted on the country of The Bahamas and the need to be prepared for these storms. This book highlights all of the major hurricanes to affect The Bahamas from 1500 to present day Hurricanes like Andrew, Wilma, Frances and Jeanne and even Katrina. It further states the damages that all of these individual hurricanes inflicted to The Bahamas on an Island by Island basis. What is also included in the book, are actual amazing pictures of all of the major hurricane damages from most of these storms including the Hurricanes of 1886, 1926, 1929, Betsy, Donna, David, Andrew, Floyd, Michelle, Frances, Jeanne and Wilma. Also included in this book is an introspective look at Hurricanes-how they are formed? What makes them work, the anatomy of a hurricane, the origins of a hurricane and where the name hurricane originated and what the future hold for Hurricanes by experts in the Field of Meteorology here in the Bahamas, The Caribbean and the United States, Like Professor William Gray, Max Mayfield(Director of The National Hurricane Center in Miami) Kathy Caesar(Tropical Meteorologist Lecturer at The Caribbean Meteorological Institute)and Michael Stubbs(Chief Climatologists at The Department of Meteorology here in Nassau) and others who all have highlighted the need to be prepared for these storms and the damages that these storms are capable of inflicting on coastal communities. Also included is the track of each of the major storms that moved through The Bahamas. Finally, also included are amazing and heart-rending personal recollections and experiences of most of the major hurricanes to affect the Bahamas. Included in these recollections are, Crystal Pintard who explained how she lost her baby in Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Sir Orville Turnquest on his experiences with hurricanes and touring respective islands and being amazed by the damages that Hurricane Andrew had inflicted to these islands just after they had won the election. Also included are residents who lived though the Hurricane of 1926 like, Mr. Conrad Knowles on how the hurricane destroyed his father's home in Long Island and Mrs. Viola Collie told how she lost two of her sisters to this deadly storm living on the island of Acklins. Mrs. Francita Rolle who recalls on how her fisherman father Prince Rolle was saved from sure death when he was caught at sea in the Hurricane of 1929 and was rescued by a dog called Speak your Mind' who swam him into land on his back and then caught a crab for him to eat when they got into the land. There is also an account from the present Governor General of the Bahamas Hon A.D. Hanna and his experiences with hurricanes growing up on the island and living in Nassau. Also included a




Hurricane Ivan: The Experience


Book Description

In 2004, the Cayman Islands faced the most devastating hurricane in recent history. Hurricanes are not a phenomenon to this trio of islands located in the western Caribbean Sea; right in the middle of Hurricane Alley. Unfortunately, everything about Hurricane Ivan - from his enormous size to his slow speed - conspired to wreak near total ruin on everything and everyone in his path. For 36 long and harrowing hours Hurricane Ivan tormented the Islands, dumping rains, gusting winds in excess of 200mph and causing waves to wash over the sea-level land, flooding hundreds of homes and businesses. The only saving graces for the residents of this God-fearing nation were their earnest prayers, low-tides and daylight which allowed almost all of them to escape certain death. While everyone experienced the same hurricane, each person had their own individually horrific encounter with this category five monster of nature. Four of them are recounted here. Chelsea M. Rivers is an imperfectly devoted wife and mother to three beautiful children, Jordan, Branden & Amelia. Born in Texas, she moved to the Cayman Islands as a very young child and never left. Island living has influenced every facet of her life and she is in no hurry to leave - even with the threat of a category five hurricane! Chelsea lives with her family and many animals in the district of West Bay at the north-western tip of Grand Cayman, the largest of the three Cayman Islands.




The Great Bahamas Hurricane of 1929


Book Description

The Great Bahamas Hurricane of 1929, also known as the Great Andros Island Hurricane of 1929, was the only major hurricane during the very inactive 1929 North Atlantic hurricane season. The Great Bahamas Hurricane of 1929 was perhaps one of the greatest and deadliest hurricanes to impact the Bahamas and is often regarded as the greatest Bahamian hurricane of the twentieth century. It was the only storm on record to last for three consecutive days over the Bahamas, with pounding torrential rainfall and strong, gusty winds. The storm killed 134 persons in the Bahamas, mostly mariners and sponge fishermen, as it directly hit the islands of Nassau and Andros. This thoroughly researched history considers this intense storm and its aftermath, offering an exploration of an important historical weather event that has been neglected in previous study. Also included is a harrowing account of a dog called Speak Your Mind who rescued a sponge fisherman at sea. Through unique historical photographs of actual damage, author and veteran meteorologist Wayne Neely shows the widespread devastation left in the wake of this tremendous storm. Drawing upon many newspaper accounts, ship reports, and Family Island Commissioners reports from throughout the Bahamas, the author provides a fascinating glimpse of this hurricane and the devastation it caused the Bahamas.




The Worst Hurricanes of All Time


Book Description

Powerful gusts and heavy rains starting in the ocean can mean only one thing: hurricane! The stormÕs forceful winds can uproot trees and send cars flitting through the air. From Hurricane Katrina to the Great Hurricane of 1780, stand up to the storm surges and read about the worst hurricanes in history.