Reimagining a Tropical Paradise: The Circulation of Imperial Ideologies in Early-Twentieth-Century Caribbean Cruise Guidebooks

Abstract

This article argues that early-twentieth-century cruise guidebooks deployed ideologies about Caribbean spaces and cultures constructed through imperial conquest. It examines how two influential travel writers, Harry L. Foster and Eleanor Early, shaped touristic perceptions of the region and its inhabitants. Unlike shipping lines such as the United Fruit Company, which presented a tropical paradise for overworked urbanites to regain their health, these cruise guides sought to move beyond such stereotypes by emphasising the distinctiveness of Caribbean nations. However, this emphasis on difference was framed through imperial ideologies. Consequently, while Foster and Early urged cruise passengers to avoid oversimplifying the Caribbean, their narratives ultimately encouraged travellers to perceive the region and its inhabitants using ideologies forged through western conquest. In doing so, these cruise guidebooks reproduced the language of empire to reimagine the Caribbean as a leisure destination for a growing US market.