The subject of Volume II of the "General History of the Caribbean" is the evolution of Caribbean society through the intrusion of Europeans. Possibly the most significant event in Caribbean history was when Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas on 12 October 1492, thus ending the biological isolation of the American continent. This volume examines the dramatic changes in politics, society and culture which occurred between 1492 and 1650. These changes are studied in conjunction with the rapidly dwindling presence of the indigenous Amerindian population and the increasing numbers of Spanish, English, French and Dutch settlers. The book argues a new Caribbean environment had come into existance, by means both natural and socio-economic, transforming the autochthonous society which had been caught up in 15th and 16th century European expansionism.