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miles wide by twelve miles long. It was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493. Not too long after, it was settled by human rubbish from Europe, who used enslaved but noble and exalted human beings from Africa (all masters of every stripe are rubbish, and all slaves of every stripe are noble and exalted; there can be no question about this) to satisfy their desire for wealth and power, to feel better about their own miserable existence, so that they could be less lonely and empty—a European disease. Eventually, the masters left, in a kind of way; eventually, the slaves were freed, in a kind of way. The people in Antigua now, the people who really think of themselves as Antiguans (and the people who would immediately come to your mind when you think about what Antiguans might be like; I mean, supposing you were to think about it), are the descendants of those noble and exalted people, the slaves. Of course, the whole thing is, once you cease to be a master, once you throw off your master’s yoke, you are no longer human rubbish, you are just a human being, and all the things that adds up to. So, too, with the slaves. Once they are no longer slaves, once they are free, they are no longer noble and exalted; they are just human beings.

Also by Jamaica Kincaid
    At the Bottom of the River
    Annie John
    Lucy
    The Autobiography of My Mother
    My Brother
    My Favorite Plant (editor)
    My Garden (Book):

 
    Acclaim for A Small Place
    â€œA loving explanation … a small book full of big ideas.”
    â€” New York Newsday
    â€œThis is truth, beautifully and powerfully stated … In truly lyrical language that makes you read aloud, [Kincaid] takes you from the dizzying blue of the Caribbean to the sewage of hotels and clubs where black Antiguans are only allowed to work … Truth, wisdom, insight, outrage, and cutting wit.”
    â€” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
    â€œLike ‘The Ancient Mariner’ in Coleridge’s poem, Kincaid will not let you go until you’ve heard her tale.”
    â€” Boston Herald
    â€œWonderful reading … Tells more about the Caribbean in 80 pages than all the guidebooks.”
    â€” The Philadelphia Inquirer
    â€œIntimate … emotional … beautifully written.”
    â€” The Virginian-Pilot

 
    Jamaica Kincaid
    A Small Place
    Â 
    Jamaica Kincaid was born in St. John’s, Antigua. Her books include At the Bottom of the River, Annie John, Lucy, The Autobiography of My Mother, My Brother, My Favorite Plant, and My Garden (Book):. She lives with her family in Vermont.

Farrar, Straus and Giroux
    18 West 18th Street, New York 10011
    Copyright © 1988 by Jamaica Kincaid
    All rights reserved
    Published in 1988 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux
    First Farrar, Straus and Giroux paperback edition, 2000
    The author wishes to express her gratitude to the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation for its generous support during the writing of this book.
    The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
    Kincaid, Jamaica.
    Â Â Â  A small place / Jamaica Kincaid—1st ed.
    Â Â Â Â Â Â  p.  cm.
    Â Â Â  ISBN-13: 978-0-374-26638-7
    Â Â Â  ISBN-10: 0-374-26638-7
    Â Â Â  1.  Kincaid, Jamaica—Homes and haunts—Antigua and Barbuda—Antigua.   2.  Novelists, Antiguan—Biography.   3.  Antigua—Description and travel.   4.  Antigua—Intellectual life—20th century.   I.  Title.
    F2035 .K56 1988
    972.92—dc19
    88000376
    Paperback ISBN-13: 978-0-374-52707-5
    Paperback ISBN-10: 0-374-52707-5
    www.fsgbooks.com
    eISBN 9781466828834
    First eBook edition: September 2012