The economic development of the Caribbean from 1880 to 1930

Abstract

During the period from 1880 to 1930, the most striking feature of the economy of the Caribbean, like that of other regions of the periphery,¹ was its expansion into foreign markets, an expansion sustained through the modernization of the export apparatus. Although the various countries in the region moved at different speeds and achieved differing results, in all cases the development of new export goods and products was conditioned by the incorporation of capitalist technological and economic elements. Although the expansion of capitalist relations on the domestic front was limited during this period, its scope did extend beyond the strict sphere of production, influencing activities such as transportation and communication which then helped to make it possible to institute schemes of large-scale agricultural production aimed at the market-place.