Economic Growth and Social Change in Cuba

Economic Growth and Social Change * During Cuba’s years as a protectorate, it underwent a great sugar boom * In the 19th century Cuba had rapidly emerged as one of the worlds most efficient sugar producers, helped by modern vacuum methods in refininf * Sugar came to dominate Cuba’s economy and eventually, lasting effect on class structure and social relationships * By the early twentieth century, Cuba was producing several million tons of sugar per year, 1 quarter of the worlds supply around WW1 about 10% of the total during depression years, and close to 20% after WWII * Sugar export earned approximately 80% of the islands foreign exchange. * Cuban economy in a very vulnerable position * The variations in production from 1920 to 1959, and even later illustrate some of the dangers of the situation. * Sugar boom was concentration of ownership, especially in the hands of American investors. * 1870s the new technology particularity railways, stimulated a rapid reduction in the number of sugar mills * the independent growers had produced most of the cane before 1870’s now sold out in growing numbers to the big sugar companies * 1912 controlled more than 10% of all land in Cuba * Concentration of mill and land ownership was a natural result of the manner in which the sugar boom was proceeded * U.S. investors poured capital into the building of modern mills (centrales) and the consolidation for cram growing lands * American owned ills produced only 15% of cubas sugar in 1906 but by 1928 they reached 75% thanks to the land defaults by Cuban owners * Technology affected labors as well as ownership and management * Cultivation comes to require large scale work force. * Zafra important crop during cultivation * Then when nothing to plant it was called timpo muerto * Workers had nowhere to go because enormous plantations could not lease to purchase small scale plots of land for their own use *