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 curriculum used in schools following the abolition of slavery. During this period the nature and development of the educational system in the region was profoundly affected by the decline of the sugar industry, the emergence of black and coloured middle classes and the threat they posed to the ruling white elite, and the institutionalization of cultural divisions between the black and white populations. Bacchus argues that after 1846 the elite white plantocracy used the educational system to maintain domination following 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. In Education as and for Legitimacy, the author 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.