Survival and transformation of the sugar industry in the Eastern of Cuba at the end of the 19th century

Abstract

The sugar industry was progressively concentrated in the western half of Cuba during the 19th century, due to the fact that the eastern was less populated and economically exploited, which also made it difficult for it to access slave labor and modernize it. This study shows that, nevertheless, in the second region, sugar mills survived and were transformed due to such conditions, and were generally larger and more efficient than those in the west, although grouped in dispersed areas and with substantial differences between them and in the responses that they gave to the need to modernize and lower its costs derived from the abolition and the increased of international competition. The research also shows that the explanation for this lies in the different context in which they had to operate in each of these regions.

Keywords

• Cuban sugar industry
• slavery and abolition
• railways
• middle east of Cuba
• Sugar companies
• industrial concentration