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The Bush Hill Sugar Plantation: A West Indies Case Study in Developmental Capitalism

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Abstract

The Caribbean frontier was dominated by agro-industrial sugar production. Localized adaptations of European designs for colonization in the Caribbean generated unique plantation landscapes. Before 1650, efforts throughout the region to create wealth from plantations did not achieve the scale of production that unfolded in the latter half of the 17th century as capitalism emerged. While tobacco farms briefly reaped rich rewards, for an adventurous and entrepreneurial few the prosperity of the colonies was ultimately sustained through a combination an increasing and seemingly unlimited demand for sugar, protectionist economic policies from the core state, and institutionalized slavery. A case study of agro-industrialism on the Bush Hill sugar estate on Nevis during the period of capitalism’s ascendancy provides insights on the incremental integration of capitalism into the plantation system.

Extracto

La frontera del Caribe estaba dominada por la producción de azúcar agroindustrial. Las adaptaciones localizadas de los diseños europeos para la colonización en el Caribe generaron paisajes de plantaciones únicos. Antes del año 1650, los esfuerzos en toda la región para crear riqueza a partir de las plantaciones no alcanzaron la escala de producción que se desarrolló en la segunda mitad del siglo XVII a medida que surgía el capitalismo. Mientras que las granjas de tabaco cosechaban brevemente ricas recompensas para unos pocos emprendedores y aventureros, la prosperidad de las colonias se mantuvo en última instancia a través de una combinación de una demanda creciente y aparentemente ilimitada de azúcar, las políticas económicas proteccionistas del estado central y la esclavitud institucionalizada. Un estudio de caso del agroindustrialismo en la finca azucarera Bush Hill en Nevis durante el período del ascenso del capitalismo proporciona información sobre la integración incremental del capitalismo en el sistema de plantación.

Résumé

La frontière caribéenne était dominée par la production de sucre agro-industrielle. Les adaptations localisées des objectifs européens pour la colonisation dans les Caraïbes ont créé des paysages uniques de plantations. Avant 1650, les efforts engagés à travers la région afin de créer de la richesse à partir des plantations ne sont pas parvenus au volume de production qui s’est déployé au cours de la dernière moitié du 17ème siècle avec l’émergence du capitalisme. Si les fermes de tabac ont brièvement récolté des richesses importantes, pour quelques-uns dotés d’un esprit aventureux et d’entreprise la prospérité des colonies a en définitive perduré grâce à l’association d’une demande croissante et apparemment illimitée en faveur du sucre, de politiques économiques protectionnistes de l’état central et d’un esclavage institutionnalisé. Une étude de cas de l’industrialisation agricole sur la plantation de sucre de Bush Hill à Nevis durant la période d’ascendance du capitalisme apporte des perspectives sur l’intégration progressive du capitalisme au sein du système de plantation.

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Acknowledgments:

I would like to express my gratitude to the Nevis Historical and Conservation Society for enabling this project for so many years; to the Lincoln family of Montpelier Estate Inn, for generously allowing the team on their property to document the Bush Hill site; and the San Jose State University Department of Anthropology and College of Social Science for their continuing enthusiastic support. I am especially grateful to the many Nevisian informants who assisted in this research, the students who contributed their enthusiastic labor, and to the reviewers of this manuscript whose critical feedback served to improve its quality.

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    Marco Meniketti

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Meniketti, M. The Bush Hill Sugar Plantation: A West Indies Case Study in Developmental Capitalism. Hist Arch 54, 212–239 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-019-00227-2

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