The land defined as Valle de los Ingenios that once one of Cuba’s most productive agricultural areas consists of the San Luis, Agabama-Méyer and Santa Rosa valleys and the plain on the southern coast of Trinidad that includes the Manatí River delta. This extensive triangular-shaped plain which is located approximately 12 km east of Trinidad, covers around 270 square kilometers between the Guamuhaya mountain range (the eastern slopes of the Sierra del Escambray) and the Caribbean sea. These three interconnected valleys constituted an important sugar production center of Cuba, based on slave labor, until the end of the 19th century.
In the past, the main entrance leading to the Valle de Ingenios was located in the Plaza de Santa Ana, in the most central area of the city of Trinidad.
Sugar Industry in Trinidad
Research shows that the settlement in the valley was old as that of the city of Trinidad. In ancient times, the native inhabitants earned their living by growing tobacco. With the arrival of the Spanish in the region in the 16th century, tobacco production and trade came into the hands of the Spanish. In the early 17th century, the Spanish established extensive tobacco plantations on the banks of the Arimao, Caracusey and Agabama rivers. Livestock farming was also done in the valley. These opportunities made the region one of the settlements with the largest trade opportunities on the island.
Around the same time, Jamaica was on its way to becoming the world's largest sugar exporting country. When the British navy captured the island in 1655, many Spanish, fleeing from the British invasion, emigrated to Cuba. At that time, thanks to African slaves, Jamaica was one of the world's largest exporters of sugar produced by sugar cane, and the Spanish had a lot of experience in this regard. The Spanish emmigrants that were welcome warmly by the native people of Cuba, brought with them both their wealth and considerable expertise, as well as their African slaves.
Some Spaniards settled in Trinidad, seeing that the land, today called Valle de los Ingenios, had excellent conditions for growing sugar cane. Valle de los Ingenios was a center of attraction for foreign capital investment with its fertile lands which were irrigated by high-flow rivers such as Rio Agabama, Rio Caracusey, Rio de Ay and Rio Tayaba. The area was also close to shipping ports to export the refined sugar. The climate was perfect, and the existing roads in the surrounding were suitable to facilitate the transport of the sugar canes.
In fact, the Spanish had introduced the sugar cane to the island already in 1512. Let’s remember that the sugarcane was brought to the Americas by the Spanish from the fields in the Canary Islands, and by the Portuguese from the fields in the Madeira islands. It was Christopher Columbus that first brought sugarcane stalks from the Canary Islands to the Americas during his second voyage. He brought them initially to Hispaniola (today’s Dominican Republic and Haiti) and then to other regions of the Americas, including Cuba.
Thus, sugar mills began to be established one after another in Valle de los Ingenios. Approximately 20 sugar mills were established in this region in the first half of the 18th century. The products of the mill were transported to the nearby port by the occasional guayro, a flat-bottomed boat that sailed and oared. The process of land occupation for the cultivation of sugar cane in the Trinidadian jurisdiction spread from the northwest of the city towards the east: from the banks of the Táyaba River towards the plains of Magua, Río de Ay and Agabama through the valleys of Santa Rosa, San Luis and the plains of Agabama, the main river artery of the region, which runs from north to south, from the mountain ranges to the Caribbean coast.
By the end of the 18th century, Cuba relied on tobacco farming, while Haiti's main crop was sugarcane. On the back of the African slaves, the French colony Haiti occupied a very important place in the world sugar trade. In 1789, the number of the white immigrants living in Haiti was 32,000, while the number of the African slaves was 432,000. The successful outcome of the slaves' revolt in Haiti in 1804 prompted large numbers of Spanish to emigrate to the neighboring island Cuba with their possessions and experience on sugar production. The collapse of sugar production in Haiti has benefited Cuba, which wanted to take over the function of this former colony. Cuba aimed to become the new sugar center of the Caribbean, but it did not have the manpower for it.
We know that slavery in Cuba started right after Spanish
conquered the island and established their colonies. However,
the development of the slavery as a large institution was
precisely after 1804, when the sugar mills in Haiti were
destroyed and the Spanish immigrated to Cuba. With the entry of
foreign capital to the island and the bringing of hundreds of
thousands of African slaves to Cuba, there was a marked increase
in sugar production from sugar cane in Trinidad, as in other
agricultural activities on the whole island. In the first half
of the 18th century, nearly 20 sugar mills were established in
Valle de los Ingenios. As sugar mills continued to be
established and the wealth accumulated in the region increased,
the sugar production became the main industry in Trinidad. At
the same time, Trinidad managed to become one of the most
developed cities in the country in the second half of the 18th
century.
In 1807, Britain passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, outlawing British Atlantic slave trade and declaring that every slave in their empire was now free, but Spain refused to do the same, because the sugar industry in Spanish colony Cuba was dependent on a slave labor force. Even though, Spain abolished the slavery, including in its colonies in 1811, Cuba rejected the ban and continued to bring the African slaves to Cuba.
While these developments were taking place in Trinidad, Jamaica became the world's largest exporter of sugar, producing 77,000 tons a year between 1820 and 1824. Such productivity would never have been achieved without the slave labor brought from Africa. However, in Jamaica the Afro-American population on the island became 20 times larger than that of whites, a situation that constantly threatened revolt and conflict. Following a series of revolts, slavery was officially abolished in 1834. This situation further increased the importance of Trinidad as a sugar production center, and there was a huge boom in sugar trade in the region. Parallel to this development that created a favorable impact on the city, Trinidad became one of the cities with the greatest economic and socio-cultural flourishing in Cuba.
When the sugar production in Trinidad reached its peak in 1846, there were 56 sugar mills, operating in the so-called Valle de los Ingenios. Over 30.000 slaves were working in these mills and on the sugar cane plantations in the three valleys. During this period, sugar production in Valle de los Ingenios reached 750 thousand arrobas (one arroba equal to 25 pounds), a figure that cannot be compared to anywhere else in the world. Cuba's sugar farms continued to expand despite Spain's ever-increasing tariffs. In the 1850s-1860s, Cuba became the world's largest exporter of sugar.
While Trinidad became the country that produces the most sugar in the world with the production of sugar from sugar cane, an important development took place in Europe. In 1705, the French chemist Olivier Serrés discovered the sugary properties of sugar beet and a few decades later, the German Margraf succeeded in extracting and solidifying the sugar from this plant, giving rise to the installation of the first sugar beet factories in Prussia. Europe, where sugar beet cultivation was possible, began to produce its own sugar from sugar beets. With the arrival of sugar of Europe, produced from sugar beet, to international markets, the demand for sugar produced from sugar cane began to decrease seriously. Additionally, the capacity of the land to be cultivated was reached, and the fertility of the soil in the cultivated lands in Valle de los Ingenios decreased.
Thus, unequal competition between Cuban and European producers resulted in capital moving away from Trinidad to other regions. The world economic crisis in 1857 and the start of the War of Independence in Cuba in 1868 caused Trinidad to enter a long period of decline starting from the mid-19th century. On the other hand, Cuba's biggest sugar customer was the United States of America, but the abolition of slavery after the end of the civil war between 1861 and 1865 in the USA had a major blow to sugar production in Cuba.
To prevent the decline in sugar production from the sugar cane, a special railway line was laid down through the valley in the late 1880s, connecting the Valle de los Ingenios with Trinidad and the port at Casilda which was 6 km from Trinidad. This was a measure to prevent sugar from spoiling by providing fast transportation. However, with the start of the final phase of War of Independence in 1892, the economic dominance of the area in sugar production came to an end, as many of the sugar mills were abandoned or became run down. As a result of the sugar trade becoming increasingly unprofitable, wealthy families emmigrated from Trinidad, causing the total economic activity in Trinidad to gradually decline. Since 1898 many sugar mills were sold to Americans and the golden age ended.
In 1807, Britain passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, outlawing British Atlantic slave trade and declaring that every slave in their empire was now free, but Spain refused to do the same, because the sugar industry in Spanish colony Cuba was dependent on a slave labor force. Even though, Spain abolished the slavery, including in its colonies in 1811, Cuba rejected the ban and continued to bring the African slaves to Cuba.
While these developments were taking place in Trinidad, Jamaica became the world's largest exporter of sugar, producing 77,000 tons a year between 1820 and 1824. Such productivity would never have been achieved without the slave labor brought from Africa. However, in Jamaica the Afro-American population on the island became 20 times larger than that of whites, a situation that constantly threatened revolt and conflict. Following a series of revolts, slavery was officially abolished in 1834. This situation further increased the importance of Trinidad as a sugar production center, and there was a huge boom in sugar trade in the region. Parallel to this development that created a favorable impact on the city, Trinidad became one of the cities with the greatest economic and socio-cultural flourishing in Cuba.
When the sugar production in Trinidad reached its peak in 1846, there were 56 sugar mills, operating in the so-called Valle de los Ingenios. Over 30.000 slaves were working in these mills and on the sugar cane plantations in the three valleys. During this period, sugar production in Valle de los Ingenios reached 750 thousand arrobas (one arroba equal to 25 pounds), a figure that cannot be compared to anywhere else in the world. Cuba's sugar farms continued to expand despite Spain's ever-increasing tariffs. In the 1850s-1860s, Cuba became the world's largest exporter of sugar.
While Trinidad became the country that produces the most sugar in the world with the production of sugar from sugar cane, an important development took place in Europe. In 1705, the French chemist Olivier Serrés discovered the sugary properties of sugar beet and a few decades later, the German Margraf succeeded in extracting and solidifying the sugar from this plant, giving rise to the installation of the first sugar beet factories in Prussia. Europe, where sugar beet cultivation was possible, began to produce its own sugar from sugar beets. With the arrival of sugar of Europe, produced from sugar beet, to international markets, the demand for sugar produced from sugar cane began to decrease seriously. Additionally, the capacity of the land to be cultivated was reached, and the fertility of the soil in the cultivated lands in Valle de los Ingenios decreased.
Thus, unequal competition between Cuban and European producers resulted in capital moving away from Trinidad to other regions. The world economic crisis in 1857 and the start of the War of Independence in Cuba in 1868 caused Trinidad to enter a long period of decline starting from the mid-19th century. On the other hand, Cuba's biggest sugar customer was the United States of America, but the abolition of slavery after the end of the civil war between 1861 and 1865 in the USA had a major blow to sugar production in Cuba.
To prevent the decline in sugar production from the sugar cane, a special railway line was laid down through the valley in the late 1880s, connecting the Valle de los Ingenios with Trinidad and the port at Casilda which was 6 km from Trinidad. This was a measure to prevent sugar from spoiling by providing fast transportation. However, with the start of the final phase of War of Independence in 1892, the economic dominance of the area in sugar production came to an end, as many of the sugar mills were abandoned or became run down. As a result of the sugar trade becoming increasingly unprofitable, wealthy families emmigrated from Trinidad, causing the total economic activity in Trinidad to gradually decline. Since 1898 many sugar mills were sold to Americans and the golden age ended.