Theme 6

• By the turn of the 20th century, cocoa was challenging sugar for its place of importance as an export crop in Trinidad
• Alternative crops in the British Caribbean post emancipation

  • Trinidad: Cocoa, ground nuts, plantain, peas, bean
  • Jamaica: Banana
  • British Guiana: Rice
  • Barbados: Sea island cotton
  • Antigua: Sea island cotton
  • Dominica: Lime (Britain), Cocoa (Caribbean territories)
  • Grenada: Nutmeg
  • St Lucia: Lime, cocoa
  • St Vincent: Arrow root
• Rice is grown commercially in Guyana, Belize, Trinidad, and Jamaica
• In Grenada, cocoa completely replaced sugarcane
• Chinese immigrants played a part in the development of rice cultivation in the New World
• Since the 1980s, annual rice cultivation in Guyana exceeded 350,000 acres, making it the leading producer in the Caribbean and 16th in the world
• By 1860, nutmeg was being grown as a commercial crop in Grenada as an alternative to sugar
• By 1977, there were around 6000 nutmeg producers on the island with about 21 processing stations
• Cotton production declined due to competition from the southern United States
• Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, accounting for 25% of the trade
• Economic/agricultural diversification

  1. Began during the slavery and sugar period

  2. Slaves grew other crops on their plots on the plantations either for their families to consume or to sell in the Sunday markets

  3. When slaves were emancipated in 1838, many of them became independent peasant farmers and cultivated crops to make a living

  4. Diversification process was further pushed by the abandonment of sugar cultivation on some estates

  5. Some planters began to focus on new crops which required less labour

  6. Some planters would sell or rent land to peasant farmers who wanted to cultivate other crops
• The modern rice industry in Guyana was pioneered by Asian immigrants who had learned the art of wet rice production in the swampy and marshy lands of the delta regions of India
• Cocoa, used in the production of chocolate, originated in Mesoamerica and was spread to the Caribbean by early Spanish settlers
• Commercial enterprise cocoa production expanded during the final decades of the 20th century
• Cocoa was grown extensively in Trinidad and Grenada and produced in smaller quantities in Jamaica, St Lucia, and Dominica
• Nutmeg was first introduced into Grenada around 1843 by a planter, Frank Gurney
• Nutmeg production requires very little capital outlay, and the Grenada Cooperative Nutmeg Association was founded in 1942 to improve quality and maximize profits
• In the 18th century, cotton was one of the main staples of the British Caribbean
• Rice growing expanded in the Caribbean in the first half of the 18th century due to the influx of Africans from the West Coast
• Nutmeg is the major industry in Grenada, accounting for almost 50% of the country's domestic export
• After 1840, British merchants expressed an interest in developing cotton in the islands
• Grenada is known as the ‘’Spice Island’’
• Britain sought to encourage cotton production in her colonies to reduce her dependence on foreign grown cotton
• Main staples of the British Caribbean in the 18th century

  • Cotton
• Coconut was made into a successful commercial product towards the end of the 19th century
• Sea-island cotton was most successful in the Leeward Islands: Barbados, St Vincent, Montserrat, and Nevis
• Types of bananas

  • Sweet dessert type eaten raw
  • Less sweet cooking banana, including plantains
• Introduction of larger ships enabled bananas to be stored without being crushed
• In 1899, the United Fruit Company was formed through a merger with Boston Fruit Company and the Minor Keith Company
• Coffee cultivation in the Caribbean faced setbacks including competition from Brazilian coffee, unwillingness of investors to invest, and archaic production methods
• In the late 19th century, some larger plantations experimented with coffee production
• The success of coconut cultivation was due to the ease with which it could be grown
• Bananas were introduced into the Caribbean by the Spanish in 1516 and soon grown in all the islands
• In Jamaica, oranges and grapefruits were cultivated by peasants for exports and made up over 50% of export earnings including banana up to 1912
• Coffee was grown by small farmers in the Caribbean
• Trinidad and Guyana experimented with rubber production for war time demands but stopped due to competition from Asian countries
• Ways ganja is consumed

  • Cigarettes or cigars (spliffs)
  • Ganja tea
• Grenada is the world’s second largest producer of nutmeg accounting for 25% of the trade
• Sea-island cotton was reintroduced in the islands after emancipation
• Characteristics of coconuts in the Caribbean

  • Grow naturally in sandy regions
  • Especially successful in low-lying coastal regions