The Making of the Caribbean Landscape: Images from a Changing Island World

William C. Found, The Making of the Caribbean Landscape: Images from a Changing Island World. Toronto, Dalvorem International, 2025. x plus 355 pages; 597 original photographs and maps.

This book represents the culmination of over 60 years of research and photography in the Caribbean by the author, William C. Found, University Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Urban and Environmental Change; and Fellow, Centre for Research in Latin America and the Caribbean, York University, Toronto, Canada. It is the first book to analyse landscapes of the entire insular Caribbean from prehistoric times to the present, brilliantly illustrating changes in natural and cultural features with almost 600 original photographs and maps, all produced by the author.

The research was undertaken in collaboration with several Caribbean organizations and hundreds of friends and colleagues throughout the region. The author moved to Jamaica in 1964 for Ph.D. research, followed by six decades of field study in almost every major island in the archipelago. Prominent among the local collaborators have been the University of the West Indies (Mona and Cave Hill campuses), the University of Puerto Rico (San Juan and Mayagüez campuses), and the Institute of Ecology and Systematics of the Cuban Academy of Sciences.

The author is indebted to the many students involved with his learning and research, particularly those with Caribbean ancestry. He is also very grateful for support from academic colleagues at York, McMaster, Toronto, Florida, Harvard and Umeå Universities; and from several institutions that provided funding for field study. David Barker (1947-2022) of the Mona Campus and Karl Watson (1944-2025) of the Cave Hill campus of the University of the West Indies were invaluable collaborators in the research. The book is dedicated to their memory.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

William (Bill) C. Found (1940- ) is University Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, and Fellow at the Centre for Research in Latin America and the Caribbean at York University, Toronto, Canada. Over his many years at York (1967- ), previous appointment at McMaster (1965-68), and Visiting appointments at Toronto, Umeå, Harvard, and the Academies of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. (Mathematical-Economical Institute) and Cuba (Institute of Ecology and Systematics), Bill has maintained a passionate interest in the landscapes of the Caribbean islands.

Bill’s theoretical interests and many publications have concerned the use of land in rural areas, programme implementation, evaluation, and landscape resilience. His books (author or co-author) include the ground-breaking “A Theoretical Approach to Rural Land-Use Patterns” (1971); “Working with People: Indonesian Experiences with Community-Based Development” (1995); “Techniques of Project Planning and Implementation: Ten Steps to Success” (1999); “Geography at York University: Reflections on the First Fifty Years” (2012); and several monographs on rural and environmental management in East Africa, Indonesia, and India. Many of his best-known publications, as well as 16 documentary films, concern Caribbean landscapes.

Bill is a devoted teacher, having won the York University-wide Teaching Award (2005), and having supervised the work of 94 graduate students.

While continuing to teach and publish throughout his academic career, Bill has also served in several administrative roles at York, including Vice President (Academic Affairs) (1979-1986) and Acting President (1984). He holds degrees from McMaster (B.A.), Florida (M.A. and Ph.D. (Woodrow Wilson Fellow), and Umeå, Sweden (Honorary Doctorate). He has collaborated with many Caribbean institutions for over 60 years, including the Mona and Cave Hill campuses of the University of the West Indies, and the Mayagüez and San Juan campuses of the University of Puerto Rico.