Sugar plantations in the Caribbean - wikipedia Sugar plantations in the Caribbean Rose Hall sugar plantation house, Jamaica Warrens Great House, St. Michael, Barbados Sugar plantation in the British colony of Antigua, 1823 Sugar was the main crop produced on plantations throughout the Caribbean through the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. Most islands were covered with sugar cane and mills for refining it. The main source of labor, until the abolition of the system, was African slaves. These plantations produced 80 to 90 percent of the sugar consumed in Western Europe. Contents 1 The sugar trade 2 Current status 3 See also 4 References The sugar trade Sugar was the most important crop throughout the Caribbean, although other crops such as coffee, indigo, and rice were also grown. Sugar cane was best grown on relatively flat land that was near the coast, where the soil was naturally yellow and fertile ; mountainous parts of the islands were less likely to be used for cane cultivation. In the mid-17th century, sugar cane was brought into what later became the British West Indies by the Dutch, from Brazil. Upon landing in Barbados and other islands, they quickly urged local growers to change their main crops from cotton and tobacco to sugar cane. With depressed prices of cotton and tobacco, due mainly to stiff competition from the North American colonies, the farmers switched, leading to a boom in the Caribbean economies. Sugar was quickly snapped up by the British, who used it in cakes and to sweeten teas. During the colonial period, the arrival of sugar culture deeply impacted the society and economy in the Caribbean. It not only dramatically increased the ratio of slaves to free men, but it increased the average size of slave plantations. Early sugar plantations made extensive use of slaves because sugar was considered a cash crop that exhibited economies of scale in cultivation ; it was most efficiently grown on large plantations with many workers. As a result, black men and women were forcibly taken from Africa and made into slaves to work on the plantations. For example, before 1650 more than three - quarters of the islands ' population was white. In 1680, the median size of a plantation in Barbados had increased to about 60 slaves. Over the decades, the sugar plantations became larger and larger. In 1832, the median - size plantation in Jamaica had about 150 slaves, and nearly one of every four bondsmen lived on units that had at least 250 slaves. Hacienda La Fortuna. A sugar mill complex in Puerto Rico, painted by Francisco Oller in 1885. Brooklyn Museum For about 100 years, Barbados remained the richest of all the European colonies in the Caribbean. The colony 's prosperity remained regionally unmatched until sugar cane production expanded in larger countries, such as Saint Domingue and Jamaica. As part of the mass sugar industry, sugar cane processing gave rise to related commodities such as rum, molasses, and falernum. The West India Interest was formed in the 1740s, when the British merchants joined with the West Indian sugar planters. The British and West Indies shared profits and needs. This organization was the first sugar - trading organization which had a large voice in Parliament. In the 1740s, Jamaica and Saint Domingue ( Haiti ) became the world 's main sugar producers. They increased production in Saint Domingue by using an irrigation system that French engineers built. The engineers also built reservoirs, diversion dams, levees, aqueducts, and canals. In addition, they improved their mills and used varieties of cane and grasses. After the end of slavery in Saint Domingue at the turn of the 19th century, with the Haitian Revolution, Cuba became the most substantial sugar plantation colony in the Caribbean, outperforming the British islands. In the 19th century, sugar dominated Martinique, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Croix, Barbados, Leeward Islands, Saint Domingue, Cuba, and many other islands that had been run by French, British, or Spanish owners. During the late 19th and 20th centuries, the sugar cane industry came to dominate Puerto Rico 's economy, both under the colonial rule of Spain and under the United States. After slavery, sugar plantations used a variety of forms of labour including workers imported from India under contracts of indenture ( see coolie ). In the 20th century, large - scale sugar production using wage labour continued in many parts of the region. Current status By the early 21st century, many Caribbean islands were no longer producing sugar. However, sugar is still produced in Barbados, Jamaica, and Cuba, among other countries. See also Trapiche, a mill used for sugar cane Colonial molasses trade Sugar production in the Danish West Indies Slavery in the British and French Caribbean Valle de los Ingenios - Valley of the Sugar Mills, Cuba Sugar production in the Caribbean. References Jump up ^ Nancy sharkey, `` A Barbados Synagogue Is Reborn '', New York Times, December 11, 1988 Jump up ^ `` Top Tourist Attractions in Bridgetown ''. Jump up ^ Ralph G. Bennett, History of the Jews of the Caribbean Jump up ^ Robert William Fogel, `` Slavery in the New World ''. Without Consent or Contract : The Rise and Fall of American Slavery. p 21 - 23 Jump up ^ Andrew J. O'Shaughnessy, The Formation of a Commercial Lobby : The West India Interest, British Colonial Policy and the American Revolution, The Historical Journal, Vol. 40, No. 1 ( Mar., 1997 ), pp. 71 - 95, Cambridge University Sugar ( as food commodity ) List of sugars and sugar products Chemistry Fructose Galactose Glucose Lactose Maltose Sucrose Trehalose Xylose Monosaccharide Disaccharide Free sugar Reducing sugar Sources Sugar beet Sugarcane Agave nectar Birch Coconut Date Honeydew Maple Palm Products Syrups Candi sugar Cheong Maesil - cheong Mogwa - cheong Yuja - cheong Corn syrup Glucose syrup Golden syrup High - fructose corn syrup High - maltose corn syrup Honey Inverted sugar syrup Kuromitsu Maple syrup Molasses Pine honey Steen 's cane syrup Treacle Solid forms Brown Peen tong Chancaca Crystalline fructose Gelling Gula melaka Jaggery Misri Mizuame Molasses sugar Muscovado Nib Non-centrifugal cane sugar Panela Plantation Reserve Powdered Preserving Rock candy Sucanat Sugar candy Barley sugar Butterscotch Candy Hard Toffee Sugar glass Sugarloaf Wasanbon Other forms Caramel Cotton candy floss Maple sugar foods Rum Sugar alcohol Sugar confectionery Sugarcane juice Tuzemák Unrefined sweeteners Industry Production Boilery Plantation Casa grande Refinery Sugar bush Sugar cane mill Engenho Batey Zafra By region ( current ) Cuba Caribbean Philippines Sri Lanka U.S. Sugar Program By region ( historical ) Danish West Indies Fiji Hawaii History Amelioration Act 1798 Blackbirding Colonial molasses trade Demerara rebellion of 1823 Holing cane Molasses Act Reciprocity Treaty of 1875 Slavery in the British and French Caribbean Sugar Act Sugar Duties Act 1846 Sugar Intervention Taiwan Sugar Railways Triangular trade Culture Crop over Sugar house Sugaring Sugar nips Sugar packet Sucrology Sugar people Sugar tit Sugar sculpture Treacle mine Related Added sugar Australian Aboriginal sweet foods Bagasse Barley malt syrup Brown rice syrup Cane knife Flavored syrup Fruit syrup Date honey Grape Jallab Health effects Nectar Sugar addiction Sugars in wine Residual sugar Sugar substitute Sweetened beverage Sweetener Sweetness Vinasse Yacón syrup Category Production Caribbean articles History Timeline Taíno -- Arawak Spanish Caribbean ( 1492 -- 1898 ) Dutch Caribbean ( 1554 -- 1863 ) British Caribbean ( 1586 -- 1834 ) French Caribbean ( 1625 -- 1817 ) Baltic - German Caribbean ( 1654 - 1689 ) Danish Caribbean ( 1672 -- 1917 ) German Caribbean ( 1685 - 1693 ) Swedish Caribbean ( 1784 -- 1878 ) By topic Afro - Caribbean Territorial evolution Geography Regions Antilles Greater Antilles Lesser Antilles Leeward Leeward Antilles Windward Caribbean Basin Caribbean Lowlands Caribbean Plate Caribbean Sea Caribbean South America Southern Caribbean By topic Bioregion Earthquakes Extreme points Islands by area Metropolitan areas Mountains Rivers Ultras sovereign states dependent territories Politics African - Caribbean leftism Caribbean Community CARIFORUM Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Sovereign states and dependent territories Western Caribbean Zone Economy Airlines Airports Central banks and currencies Citrus Fishing Stock exchanges Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange Sugar in Cuba in the Danish West Indies Telecommunications Tourism Culture Afro - Caribbean Art Beer Cuisine Literature Music People Sport Stadiums Television stations Demographics Immigration Languages Pre-Arawakan Population Diseases Religion Category Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sugar_plantations_in_the_Caribbean&oldid=791052933 '' Categories : Sugar plantations in the Caribbean Agriculture in the Caribbean Economic history of the Caribbean Sugar plantations West Indies Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from September 2009 Articles with unsourced statements from July 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages Add links This page was last edited on 17 July 2017, at 20 : 51. 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Question: where is sugar cane grown in the caribbean
Answer: Barbados