James A. Rawley Prize
The James A. Rawley Prize in Atlantic History was created in 1998 in accordance with the terms of a gift from James A. Rawley, Carl Adolph Happold Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. It is offered annually to recognize outstanding historical writing that explores aspects of integration of Atlantic worlds before the 20th century. The general rules for submission are:
- Only books of a high scholarly and literary merit will be considered. Research accuracy and originality are also important factors in the evaluation of the books.
- Books with a copyright of 2018 are eligible for the 2019 award.
- Nominators must complete an online prize submission form for each book submitted.
- One copy of each entry must be sent to each committee member and clearly labeled “Rawley Prize Entry.” Print copies preferred unless otherwise indicated. If only e-copy is available, please contact review committee members beforehand to arrange submission format.
Please Note: Entries must be received by May 15, 2019, to be eligible for the 2019 competition. Entries will not be returned. Recipients will be announced on the AHA website in October 2019 and recognized during a ceremony at the January 2020 AHA annual meeting in New York City.
For questions, please contact the Prize Administrator.
The review committee contact information and prize submission form will be posted by March 1 for submissions due May 15.
2017 Rawley Prize
David Wheat, Michigan State Univ.
Atlantic Africa and the Spanish Caribbean, 1570-1640 (Omohundro Inst. of Early American History and Culture and the Univ. of North Carolina Press)
By putting Africa and Africans squarely at the center of the Atlantic world, Wheat’s Atlantic Africa and the Spanish Caribbean offers a strikingly fresh account of the colonization of the Caribbean. Most of the 16th-century African slaves brought to ports in Tierra Firme worked as slaves-for-hire, eventually gaining manumission, accumulating property, and becoming vecinos (citizens). This was also the model of colonization followed by the Portuguese in Cape Verde. To understand the early history of the Caribbean, one needs to turn to Gambia and Cape Verde, not Europe. Atlantic Africa and the Spanish Caribbean is an impressive achievement.