This study of the development of education in the British West Indian colonies during the last half of the nineteenth century examines the educational policies and curricula used in schools following the abolition of slavery.

In Education as and for Legitimacy, M. Kazim Bacchus continues the study of West Indian education he began with his previous book, Utilization, Misuse, and Development of Human Resources in the Early West Indian Colonies. He argues that after 1846 the elite white plantocracy used the educational system to maintain domination following the decline of the sugar industry and the end of slavery.

This is the first book to present an overall picture of educational developments in the British West Indies in this period and pays special attention to the historical context in which they occurred.