HUMA 024 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Sugar Beet, Profit Margin, Agricultural Diversification
Document Summary
The decline of sugar in the british caribbean began before 1850. Many of the former slaves, and newly established peasant class were reluctant to return to the plantations. Some preferred subsistence farming of alternate crops, rather than returning to face the european colonialists. As a result, there was a shortage of labour on plantations, hence the need for the introduction of indentureship. Consequently, this new system of payment for labour increased the cost of production for planters as they now had to budget for this additional costs. This severely affected the overall profit margin for planters. Free trade means trading, or buying and selling without the additional cost of paying duties or taxes on items to be sold. The sugar duties equalization act of 1846, was the worst news for the b. w. i sugar industry because it meant that all sugar prices had to be equalized (sold at the same price).
