MAGGOTTY HIGH SCHOOL

CARIBBEAN HISTORY STUDY NOTES

MRS. R. BEASON

THEME 2 – Caribbean Economy and Slavery

1. The Change from Tobacco to Sugar in the 17th Century

During the seventeenth century the Caribbean economy experienced a great change that would be
revolutionary. This change was termed the "Sugar Revolution". The "Sugar Revolution" describes
the change from tobacco to sugar as the chief crop of the region.

Causes of the Sugar Revolution

Competition from Virginia: West Indian Tobacco faced great competition from tobacco grown in
the North American colony of Virginia. Virginia produced tobacco of a better quality and in larger
quantity compared to West Indies.

Demand for sugar in Europe: During the 17th century, coffee, and tea drinking became popular in
Europe. Due to this, there was a higher demand for a sweeter for these beverages. At the time, hone
was too expensive and sugar was a cheaper alternative to sweeten these beverages and also to make
sweet treats like cakes and preserve fruits to make jams.

Right Climate and Soil: The West Indies possessed the ideal climate which was tropical needed to
grow sugarcane. They also had fertile soil which was easily drained.

Sugar was not too bulky: Sugar was not as bulky as tobacco and not easily spoilt. This made it
easier to transport in the small ships used during the 17th century,

Help from the Dutch: The Dutch were the “God Fathers” of the sugar revolution. They helped in
the establishment of the sugar industry by providing the expertise in sugar cultivation, the capital,
also the transportation of African slave labour into the West Indies.

Effects of the Revolution

SOCIAL
 The black population increased with the importation of African slaves to produce sugar
(Millions of Africans were forcibly removed from their homelands to work as slaved in the
West Indies).
 The white population decreased as the whites returned to Europe or moved onto other
islands because they did not want to work alongside the blacks.
 Society changed from a free citizenry to a slave society as the Africans were enslaved on the
plantations and the small number of whites ruled society. “Free” meant “white” and “slave”
meant “black”.
 Absenteeism was a new practice. This was owning land in one country but living in another.
The planters owned plantations in the West Indies but lived in Eu rope.
ECONOMIC
  The price of land inflated as there was an increasing demand for land. This became 30 times
more than when it was for tobacco.
 The number of landholders decreased. Small land owners were put out of business and small
plots of land could not accommodate the amount of land needed to plant sugarcane and
process it as it required a whole plantation. Many small holdings were grouped together into
large estates, under the ownership of a rich planter.
 Monoculture (the concentration on the cultivation of a single crop) became the backbone of
the Caribbean economy as sugar became the main crop that was relied upon. This was a
dangerous foundation for the Caribbean economy which would eventually lead to much
distress.

POLITICAL
 The Proprietorship System of Government was replaced by The Old Representative System
of Government. The Old Representative System of Government had a Governor and an
Assembly. Barbados had its assembly setup in 1639. This was the first Assembly to be
established in the West Indies.
 The planter class ruled the assembly (government) and made the decisions as they held
many seats. Only those who owned land could votes thus only whites had power.

2. Slave Labour on Sugar Plantations

Slaves were undisputedly the largest percentage of the labour force. They did not receive wages for
their work. There were two types of slaves: African slaves and Creole slaves but for the purposes of
work, were divided into three main groups:

Domestic slaves:
These were considered to be the crème de la crème of the slave population because they worked in
the Great House and received favours and rewards from its occupants. For example, ‘hand me
down' clothes and left over food. The mere fact that they worked in close proximity to the owners
seemed to have been enough, for them to be considered as ‘’privileged’’ by some of the other
slaves. Their workload was also comparatively lighter. True, the job was more demanding, since
they had to respond the whims and fancy and every cry of the owner and his family, and endure
their abuse which was even sexual but at least they did not have to toil in the blazing heat under the
watchful eye of a slave driver.

On the other hand, their daily working conditions depended upon the very nature of the master and
his family that they served. Some were spiteful, ill – tempered and grossly inhumane. Still, others
were demanding and gave them quaint jobs to perform such as scratching their feet! They did not
always have a scheduled time to begin or end work. In the event of a function such as balls or
parties, they could begin the work of preparing the food from before dawn and still be kept up on
their feet all night.

This included: washerwomen, butlers, gardeners, cooks, nursemaids, and coachmen.

Artisans/Skilled slaves: These were considered to be the most valuable slaves on the estate
because of the importance of their job in converting the cane to the export product known as raw
muscovado sugar. This group of slaves worked in the workshops and factory. They worked in the
factory as boilers, stirred the cane juice as tested it for readiness when it was cured. They also
repaired the equipment that was damaged or not working properly.
Field/Praedial Slaves: These represented the largest portion of the slave population. They did the
most strenuous work in the fields. They had three main seasons of work: planting, maintenance and
reaping or harvest time. This large group is further divided into three gangs. A slave driver was
placed in charge of each gang. He was a fellow slave who has been given a bit of authority over the
gang. He was expected to use the whip to keep the gang working.

First Gang: the strong and healthy slaves, both male and females made up this group. They were
responsible for the planting of the cane to include the preparation of the land for planting. At
harvest time, they were the ones charged with the responsibility of quickly cutting the canes and
tying them in bundles.
Second Gang: the young boys and girls about ten to twelve years old, pregnant and convalescing
slaves made up this group. They did the lighter work of weeding and harrowing.
Third Gang: this gang is called the “picney” gang. These children of six or seven years are
supervised by the elderly as they carried out their assigned tasks of weeding the gardens, carrying
sticks for fire for the slaves’ meals, collecting yam peels etc., to feed the estate animals and any
other general light work that was deemed suitable for their age, size and strength.

The “guinea birds”, as the newly arrived African were called would be assigned to Creole slaves
who were to train them and teach them the new language. This is part of what was known as the
“seasoning period”.

Theme 6 – Caribbean Economy, 1876 – 1985

Problems of the sugar industry, 1875-1985

The decline of sugar in the British Caribbean began before 1850. The causes of this crisis in the
sugar industry at this time were: Britain’s loss of North American colonies in 1783 which resulted
in an increase in the cost of estate supplies thereafter purchased from Britain. Abolition of the Slave
Trade and emancipation produced increased labour costs and labour shortages. The decline of the
sugar industry accelerated after 1850. The following are the causes of this decline:
1. Sugar Duties Equalization Act of 1846
2. Competition from Cuba and Brazil
3. Competition from beet sugar
4. Inefficiency of various aspects of the industry

 Sugar Duties Equalization Act: The Sugar Duties Act of 1846 was the worst news for the
British West Indies sugar industry because it meant not only that all sugar prices had to be
equalized (entered at the same price on the sugar market) but also at a lower price. Before this,
the West Indies had been a protected market (meaning that duties would protect them from
competition because the duties would make the competitors’ sugar more expensive). However,
with the Act, this no longer happened and the price of BWI sugar and the cost of sugar
production had to be reduced if any profit was to be made. NB: Free trade means trading or
buying and selling without the additional cost of paying duties or taxes on items to be sold.
 Competition from sugar produced in Cuba and Brazil: Cuba was a main competitor of the
British West Indies because they were able to produce sugar more cheaply and thus undersell
the BWI sugar on the world market and in Britain in the late 19th Century. Cuba had an
advantage for following reasons: Cuba had more virgin soil, Cuba had more available land, and
the Cuban sugar industry adopted the most technologically advanced methods of refining and
producing sugar (e.g. steam engines, vacuum pans, centrifuges) and adequate, reliable slave
labour until 1886 when Cuban slavery ended.

 Competition from Beet Sugar: European countries started beet sugar industries because: It
would make them independent of imported sugar. It would provide employment. It would suit
the rotation of crops they practiced in Europe. During the second half of the 16th century, beet
sugar was a serious threat to sugar because it satisfied the European market therefore cutting off
the need for European and even British imports of cane sugar. Beet root produced not only
sugar but also cattle feed from its residue. It also helped the economy in Europe because it
employed a large working population and unlike sugarcane could be stored for months without
spoiling. Beet sugar had a lower cost of production and lower costs. It was easier to transport
because it had lower freight (transportation weights) than sugarcane which made it easier to
transport. Lower prices made beet sugar more popular among British consumers and it also had
the reputation of being of a superior quality to the West Indian/Caribbean cane sugar. As a
result, both the consumption and level of imports of cane sugar into Britain decreased.

Measures (solutions) taken to improve the sugar industry from 1875 onwards

Loans- From 1848 onwards the British Parliament provided West Indian planters with loans to
mechanize plantations, assist immigration and improve communications. These were taken up by
Barbados, Trinidad and British Guiana but generally refused by Jamaica.

Amalgamation of Estates- Smaller estates amalgamated into bigger working units. Estates were
turned into Limited Companies. In 1833, there were 600 estates in British Guiana and in 1890, there
were only 140.

Scientific agriculture- Government botanists were appointed (a botanist is a person who studies
plants. The botanists were placed in Jamaica, Barbados and British Guiana. These botanists used
new varieties of cane, fertilizers and more efficient planting methods. In 1898, the Imperial
Department of Agriculture was established in Barbados. In 1922, The Imperial College of Tropical
Agriculture was opened in Trinidad.

Centralization- Introduction of a Central factory system allowed for greater efficiency and lower
production costs. In 1871, the Colonial Company established the Usine St Madeline factory in
Trinidad.

New Markets- The loss of European markets to European beet sugar forced the British Caribbean
planters to seek new markets. From 1875 to 1899, the new market was the U.S. and from 1898 to
1912, the new market for West Indian sugar was Canada.

Were the measures taken to take to improve the sugar industry a success or a failure?
The measures taken to improve the sugar crisis succeeded for the most part. There were improved
yields of cane and fewer diseased crops. This was mainly due to the efforts of the agricultural
departments and the planters' willingness to learn.
There were lower production costs to produce sugar on the estates, especially those which had
amalgamated. Many uneconomical estates were abandoned or became part of amalgamated units.
More capital was invested in the sugar industry and this was really helpful in saving the industry
from crisis. The British Government's efforts as well as that of the planters ensured that the
economy survived. There were enough funds to purchase equipment such as vacuum pans and
steam mills. Success in the area of loans was limited because loans were disliked because
repayment became a burden on colony revenues.

Essay Introductions

SUGAR INDUSTRY CRISIS

Sugar was King! The gold mine of the West Indies was sugar in the 17th and 18th century leading up
to the 19th century. The British West Indies planters received help from the Dutch with the
expertise, capital and labour for these plantations in the 16th century. With the aid of free African
slave labour and exploitation of the Caribbean fertile soil, European planters became wealthy.
However, they placed al their eggs in one basket as in the 19th century, the sugar industry was
challenged by several factors. *write your thesis here*

GROWTH OD CUBA’S SUGAR INDUSTRY

Cuba failed to prosper before the 1760s due to the regulations by their colonizers; the Spanish.
Spain had set up a monopoly in Cuba which did not allow them to trade with any foreign ships.
They thought that doing this was protecting their markets and making sure that they were the only
ones benefiting from their trade. However, this only slowed the growth of Cuba. Furthermore, Spain
restricted Cuba’s access to the slave trade with was dominated by the British, French and Dutch. As
soon as Spain opened up Cuba’s ports to foreign ships, a great sugar boon began.

THE ROLE OF TRADE UNIONS

 During the early 1900s, the Caribbean society was challenged with social and economic issues in
all levels. These raged from unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, low wages, high mortality
rates and even gender inequality. These factors slowed the growth of many Caribbean societies who
were transitioning to become independents nations. After years of continuous struggle, many
organizations including trade unions in the Caribbean developed to address the needs of citizens.

NB: NOTES TAKEN FROM VARIETY OF CARIBBEAN HISTORY TEXTBOOKS