There are specific differences between the Carolina Lowcountry and the islands of the Caribbean. In general these two regions are considered to be separate from each other when being taught to students and other scholars. However, some scholars and historians would argue that the Carolina Lowcountry and the islands of the Caribbean could be considered as one region, the “Greater Caribbean”. This distinction cannot be better inscribed than in the book Hubs of Empire by Matthew Mulcahy. Through his interpretation many things can be gained, but also lost, when looking at the lowcountry and the islands as a whole rather than as separate.
Mulcahy depicts these as well as many differences between the two regions although he explains their shared …show more content…
As with the other colonies. Barbados started off its agriculture economy with tobacco and cotton. Tobacco was a staple crop in the Virginia colony and colonists in Barbados want to capture some of that prosperity for themselves. In practice, however, it was not as simple as it sounded. By the 1630s the market for tobacco had dwindle because of the vast amounts of the crop that was exported from Virginia (Mulcahy 41). While the majority of planters turned to other crop such as cotton, few still sent their tobacco to Europe. Compared to Virginia’s tobacco, this tobacco was of an inferior quality that many people in Europe would not buy it instead going for the better quality. As opposed to the tobacco, Barbadian cotton was of a higher quality and generated a better profit even though it costed more startup capital than tobacco (Mulcahy 42). With the moderate success of cotton and to a lesser extent tobacco, the colonists on Barbados looked to more stable crops when the prices of tobacco and cotton fell in the early 1640s even though prices rebounded a few years later. The new crop that would change the future of Barbados and other islands in the Caribbean was sugarcane. Sugarcane was a much more capitally invested crop than was previously planted and needed special instructions that they had learned from the Dutch. As the plantations grew other smaller plantations were bought and merged. The investment of sugar changed society for those on Barbados and introduced the practice of slavery that would spread to other islands. To control the slaves, codes were introduced the first one in 1661. The codes allowed a master to handle their slaves anyway they saw fit even if they murdered them. They also stated that any slave who was caught assaulting a “Christian” would receive punishments that included branding
Mulcahy depicts these as well as many differences between the two regions although he explains their shared …show more content…
As with the other colonies. Barbados started off its agriculture economy with tobacco and cotton. Tobacco was a staple crop in the Virginia colony and colonists in Barbados want to capture some of that prosperity for themselves. In practice, however, it was not as simple as it sounded. By the 1630s the market for tobacco had dwindle because of the vast amounts of the crop that was exported from Virginia (Mulcahy 41). While the majority of planters turned to other crop such as cotton, few still sent their tobacco to Europe. Compared to Virginia’s tobacco, this tobacco was of an inferior quality that many people in Europe would not buy it instead going for the better quality. As opposed to the tobacco, Barbadian cotton was of a higher quality and generated a better profit even though it costed more startup capital than tobacco (Mulcahy 42). With the moderate success of cotton and to a lesser extent tobacco, the colonists on Barbados looked to more stable crops when the prices of tobacco and cotton fell in the early 1640s even though prices rebounded a few years later. The new crop that would change the future of Barbados and other islands in the Caribbean was sugarcane. Sugarcane was a much more capitally invested crop than was previously planted and needed special instructions that they had learned from the Dutch. As the plantations grew other smaller plantations were bought and merged. The investment of sugar changed society for those on Barbados and introduced the practice of slavery that would spread to other islands. To control the slaves, codes were introduced the first one in 1661. The codes allowed a master to handle their slaves anyway they saw fit even if they murdered them. They also stated that any slave who was caught assaulting a “Christian” would receive punishments that included branding