Following the outbreak of World War I, tens of thousands of men from the British Caribbean volunteered as soldiers to fight on behalf of the British Empire.
Despite living far from the bloody battlefields of Europe, these men enlisted to affirm their masculine honor, pursue economic mobility, or enhance their standing as colonial subjects.
“Democracy’s Foot Soldiers” offers a sweeping account of the British West Indies Regiment, the military unit established in 1915 for Caribbean volunteers, documenting their service during the war and their dramatic battles for racial equality.
