Reviving the British Caribbean sugar industry
OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
1. Discuss three problems plaguing the British Caribbean sugar industry by the 1850s.
2. Assess three measures introduced to revive the British Caribbean sugar industry by the 1850s.
THE AILING BRITISH CARIBBEAN INDUSTRY IN THE 19TH CENTURY
The British Caribbean planters faced several problems that led to them being unable to produce sugar competitively. Sugar in these territories was produced inefficiently. These inefficiencies were influenced by the following: a) The high costs of production. b) Absenteeism c) Lack of mechanisation. d) Poor sugar soils (in the mountainous Windwards).
e) Inadequate, large, arable lands.
The decline in sugar production in the Windwards and Jamaica began prior to 1850. The reasons for this included:
1. SUGAR DUTIES EQUALISATION ACT (1846)
Duties on all sugar being imported into Britain was equalised over a four-year period. Prior to this, foreign (non-British) territories had to pay a high duty percentage on sugar being sent to Britain. This new act, however, would gradually reduce the duty, making their sugar even cheaper. The result was that British Caribbean planters could not successfully compete against these cheap producers.
2. COMPETITION FROM CHEAP SUGAR PRODUCERS
Cuba, Brazil, Louisiana and Mauritius were countries that were able to produce sugar at a cheaper cost. They were considered as low-cost producers. They had several advantages that allowed them to produce at a cheap cost. They had: a) Large areas of flat, arable land. b) Undergone mechanisation. These countries introduced steam engines, vacuum pans, centrifuges in large, centralised factories.
c) Slave labour – such as in the case of Cuba and Brazil that had slaves up to the late 19th century.
This efficiency resulted in Cuba, for example, substantially increasing its sugar production. For example, Cuba, in 1859-1860 produced 34,8157 tonnes of sugar, while the entire British Caribbean produced 19,8600. For the period 18941895, Cuba produced 1,054214 tonnes of sugar, while the entire British Caribbean produced 26,0211 tonnes.
3. COMPETITION FROM BEET SUGAR
Europe was able to produce its own type of sugar (beet) at a cheap cost. The introduction of beet sugar made Europe less dependent on British Caribbean sugar.
MEASURES TAKEN TO REVIVE THE BRITISH CARIBBEAN SUGAR INDUSTRY
Even with the mounting problems faced by British Caribbean planters, they still attempted to save the sugar industry. Some of these measures included:
1. AMALGAMATION
There was the merger of several estates to reduce production costs. This was primarily utilised in Trinidad and British Guiana.
2. WAGE REDUCTIONS
To reduce their overall costs, planters reduced the pay of workers. This practice was utilised in smaller territories where land was unavailable to Blacks.
3. LOANS
From 1848 onwards, the British Parliament provided planters with loans to mechanise and assist with immigration schemes. Generally, countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and British Guiana made the most of this, but Jamaica did not readily take up the offer.
4. NEW MARKETS
With added competition from cheaper foreign sugar producers and beet producer, British Caribbean planters had to find new markets to sell their sugar. These markets included the USA and Canada.