Book contents
- Agrarian Puerto Rico
- Agrarian Puerto Rico
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Maps
- Introduction
- 1 The Myth of the Disappeared Legion of Proprietors
- 2 The Coffee Economy
- 3 The Sugar Industry
- 4 The Tobacco Industry
- 5 Economic Transformation and Demographic Change
- 6 Land Concentration/Fragmentation Using Land Tax Records
- 7 Rates of Landownership in Rural Puerto Rico
- 8 Land Tenure Patterns Using Census Data
- 9 Land Use
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
3 - The Sugar Industry
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 January 2020
Book contents
- Agrarian Puerto Rico
- Agrarian Puerto Rico
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Maps
- Introduction
- 1 The Myth of the Disappeared Legion of Proprietors
- 2 The Coffee Economy
- 3 The Sugar Industry
- 4 The Tobacco Industry
- 5 Economic Transformation and Demographic Change
- 6 Land Concentration/Fragmentation Using Land Tax Records
- 7 Rates of Landownership in Rural Puerto Rico
- 8 Land Tenure Patterns Using Census Data
- 9 Land Use
- Conclusion
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Puerto Rico has experienced three distinct sugar booms in its history. In the aftermath of conquest and settlement, the first sugar mill on the island was established by Tomás de Castellón, a Genoese investor who came to Santo Domingo in 1509, moved to Puerto Rico in 1513, and established himself as a producer of cattle and cassava bread. De Castellón’s enterprises prospered, and in 1523, he established the first sugar mill in the southwestern district of San Germán. Other mills were established during the 1520s and 1530s, and by 1540, the island clearly had a sugar sector of importance to the insular economy.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Agrarian Puerto RicoReconsidering Rural Economy and Society, 1899–1940, pp. 61 - 90Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020