Essay On The Cuban Sugar Revolution

The 19th century was a pivotal time for the development of the sugar revolution in Havana Cuba. It marked a time of prosperity for Cuba as it slowly grew into becoming one of the world’s largest sugar producer and exporter country. Before Cuba became the world’s largest sugar producer the country had a struggling economy. However, the Haitian revolution would later change this and allow for Cuba’s sugar industry and economy to flourish. The years 1750 to 1850 holds great importance for Cuba, as those were the years when Cuba became noticeable by other countries for their agriculture. If it was not for the Haitian revolution Cuba would not have been able to build a sugar industry. However, it should be noted that even though the Haitian revolution played an important role in the development of Cuba’s sugar industry it was not solely responsible because other factors and people played an important role in the continued development of the Cuban sugar industry.
Even though other factors played an important role in the …show more content…
After the Haitian revolution ended in 1804 many African slaves were legally and illegally imported to Cuba for work on the sugar plantations (Maya Pons 220). It is estimated that 77,189 African slaves were imported by Cuban planters between the years 1791 and 1803. This approximated to about 6,000 African slaves per year (Maya Pons 224). The roles of the African slaves included cultivating and cutting of the crops, pulling wagons, and processing the sugar cane with the machinery. A typical workday for the African slave lasted twenty hours during harvest and processing time and living conditions were cruel and unhygienic ("Spanish Rule, Sugar and Slaves"). However, the continued hard work of the African slaves helped with the expansion of Cuba’s sugar industry leading to Havana becoming one of the largest sugar plantations (Maya Pons