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Mapping Montserrat's Transition

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Mapping Montserrat's Transition MAPPING MONTSERRAT’S TRANSITION FROM SUGAR TO LIMES: A GEOSOCIAL LANDSCAPE APPROACH MAPEO DE LA TRANSICIÓN DE MONTSERRAT DEL AZÚCAR A LAS LIMES: UN ENFOQUE DE PAISAJE GEOSOCIAL CARTOGRAPHIE DE LA TRANSITION DE MONTSERRAT DU SUCRE AU LIMES: UNE APPROCHE DU PAYSAGE GEOSOCIAL Samantha Ellens Samantha Ellens Wayne State University, United States [email protected] This paper uses field-based and archival research to trace the transitions on the physical landscape between the sugar and citrus lime industries occurring on Montserrat. Maps reveal the extent to which sugar production sites and natural resources were repurposed by citrus lime processors, the shifts in land-use accompanying the new industry, and the ways in which the island’s social dynamics (settlement patterns, trade networks, transportation routes) shifted vis-a- vis the new wage-labor economy. In the intermediate years between emancipation and the introduction of limes as a cash crop, the Leeward Islands were no longer competitive in the world sugar market, leading sugar cultivation to dwindle and populations to slowly adjust to new socio-economic conditions. Approaches from landscape and historical archaeology are enlisted to explore the scope and scale of lime production, situating the industry (1852- 1928) within a larger global economy and the construction of local industry-period Montserratian life. Preliminary examination of the island-wide land holdings of The Montserrat Company, the Sturge family’s prosperous lime enterprise, aids in determining the extent to which the inhabitants re-appropriated and restructured the landscape in the post-sugar era to accommodate citrus lime production and the new wage-labor system. Records indicate that the lime industry converted sugar plantation infrastructure to facilitate the production of limes, but the extent to which the new industry drew upon the old is poorly understood. This geosocial landscape approach provides a basis for interrogating the relationships between local and regional dynamics of socio-economic island networks. Keywords: Post-Emancipation Landscapes, Island Economies, Agriculture, Labor Este documento utiliza la investigación de campo y de archivo para rastrear las transiciones en el paisaje físico entre las industrias del azúcar y la lima cítrica que se producen en Montserrat. Los mapas revelan hasta qué punto los sitios de producción de azúcar y recursos naturales fueron reutilizados por procesadores de lima cítrica, los cambios en el uso de la tierra que acompañan a la nueva industria y las formas en que la dinámica social de la isla (patrones de asentamiento, redes de comercio, rutas de transporte) vis-a-vis la nueva economía del trabajo asalariado. En los años intermedios entre la emancipación y la introducción de las limas como cultivo comercial, las Islas de Sotavento ya no eran competitivas en el mercado mundial del azúcar, lo que provocó que el cultivo 454 de azúcar disminuyera y las poblaciones se ajustaran lentamente a las nuevas condiciones socioeconómicas. Los enfoques del paisaje y la arqueología histórica se alistaron para explorar el alcance y la escala de la producción de cal, situando la industria (1852-1928) dentro de una economía global más grande y la construcción de la vida Montserratian de la industria local. El examen preliminar de la tenencia de tierras en toda la isla de The Montserrat Company, la próspera empresa de lima de la familia Sturge, ayuda a determinar en qué medida los habitantes volvieron a apropiarse y reestructuraron el paisaje en la era posterior al azúcar para acomodar la producción de lima cítrica y la nuevo sistema de trabajo asalariado. Los registros indican que la industria de la cal reconvirtió la infraestructura de plantaciones de azúcar para facilitar la producción de limas, pero el grado en que la nueva industria se basó en el anterior es poco conocido. Este enfoque de paisaje geosocial proporciona una base para interrogar las relaciones entre las dinámicas locales y regionales de las redes de islas socioeconómicas. Palabras claves: Paisajes Post Emancipadores, Economías Insulares, Agricultura, Trabajo Cet article utilise la recherche sur le terrain et l'archivage pour tracer les transitions sur le paysage physique entre les industries du sucre et de la chaux d'agrumes sur Montserrat. Les cartes révèlent la transformation des sites de production de sucre et des ressources naturelles par les transformateurs de citron vert, les changements dans l'utilisation des terres accompagnant la nouvelle industrie et les changements de la dynamique sociale de l'île (schémas de peuplement, réseaux commerciaux, voies de transport). vis-à-vis de la nouvelle économie salariée. Dans les années intermédiaires entre l'émancipation et l'introduction du limes comme culture de rapport, les îles Sous-le-Vent ne sont plus compétitives sur le marché mondial du sucre, entraînant une baisse de la culture sucrière et une lente adaptation des populations aux nouvelles conditions socio- économiques. Des approches du paysage et de l'archéologie historique sont utilisées pour explorer la portée et l'échelle de la production de chaux, situant l'industrie (1852-1928) au sein d'une économie mondiale plus vaste et la construction de la vie locale de Montserratian. L'examen préliminaire des propriétés foncières de la Compagnie de Montserrat, l'entreprise prospère à la chaux de la famille Sturge, aide à déterminer dans quelle mesure les habitants se sont réappropriés et restructurés à l'ère du sucre pour accueillir la production de citron et de chaux. nouveau système de travail salarié. Les dossiers indiquent que l'industrie de la chaux a converti l'infrastructure des plantations de canne à sucre pour faciliter la production de chaux, mais la mesure dans laquelle la nouvelle industrie s'est inspirée de l'ancienne est mal comprise. Cette approche du paysage géosocial fournit une base pour interroger les relations entre les dynamiques locales et régionales des réseaux insulaires socio- économiques. Mots clés: Paysages Post-Emancipation, Economies Insulaires, Agriculture, Travail This paper presents a preliminary examination of the land holdings of The Montserrat Company, the prosperous lime enterprise established in 1869 by the Sturge family to start the commercial production of lime juice on the island of Montserrat. The first Joseph Sturge, a prominent Quaker abolitionist who had visited the island in 1836 to assess the conditions under the apprenticeship system introduced at the time of emancipation in 1834, purchased a sugar estate in 1857 with the idea of demonstrating the viability of using wage-labor (Fergus 1996). It was to be under the directorship of his son, Joseph Sturge II, that the enterprise would grow to become the largest property holder in Montserrat, with limes taking the lead among exports during the latter half of the 19th-century. This research stems from previous work I have conducted as a member of the Survey and Landscape Archaeology on Montserrat (SLAM) project. It represents the start of my dissertation 455 project, which questions the transformative impacts of the citrus lime industry during the transition from slave-based to wage labor systems. I will examine patterns of land use and population movement pertaining to questions of economic transition, methods of transferrable technology, and mobility, as well as the extent to which the new industry transformed tastes, created new trade markets, and impacted the quality of life for the island's laborers. It will develop in the next year through my work on Montserrat and comparisons with the labor on Dominica. The introduction of competing alternative global methods of sugar production during the 18th-century (cane vs beet) meant that the Leeward Islands were no longer competitive in the world sugar market (Sheridan 1974:181-183). In the years following emancipation, sugar cultivation continued to dwindle and populations slowly adjusted to new socio-economic conditions. On many islands, a post-plantation economy subsequently struggled to emerge. In Montserrat, sugar production had been in decline since 1735, having consistently ranked amongst the lowest producers in the Leewards Islands because of its small size, mountainous terrain, and the absence of a good harbor (Hall 1971:ix; Sheridan 1974:181-183). Following the British abolition of slavery in 1834, the social and political climate ensured the continuation of African-derived labor for an ever-expanding capitalism in latter half of the 19th century (Higman 1995; Olwig 2014). In order to create a “smooth transition,” British Parliament decreed that all formerly enslaved able-bodied workers should remain on estates as part of an “apprenticeship” system for several years so that they could learn the system of wage- labor (Antigua being an exception having transitioned to immediate emancipation on August 1, 1834) (Delle 2014:68). Over the next decade, a complex set of factors including economic depression, disease, mass emigration of labor, and lingering damage from an 1843 earthquake further combined to drastically impair Montserrat’s island infrastructure and the prosperity of its inhabitants (Davy 1854:420). Several attempts at alternative export crops developed, including failed ventures in silk production through importations of silk worms from France and Italy. In the following decades, from the 1850s into the early 20th century, lime production would increase and contribute to major transformations in both the socioeconomic and environmental
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