As for the future of the sugar industry in Jamaica, much in the way of improvement could be done by the introduction of systematic management, proper cultivation, adequate fertilization and scientific methods of manufacture. Labor is plentiful and cheap, and it would seem that sugar could be produced in Jamaica at as low cost as in Cuba. Thus far, however, there have been no signs of a real awakening.

As regards production, the following figures are taken from Willett & Gray:

1903-04crop14,255tons
1904-05”16,000”
1905-06”18,000”
1906-07exports13,971”
1907-08”10,718”
1908-09”11,453”
1909-10”12,000”
1910-11”19,960”
1911-12”21,835”
1912-13”8,728”
1913-14”15,583”
1914-15”15,063”
1915-16”15,000[68]tons

BARBADOS

Barbados, the most easterly of the Windward islands, lies seventy-eight miles east of St. Vincent in 13 degrees 4 minutes north latitude and 59 degrees 37 minutes west longitude. It is twenty-one miles long, fourteen and one-half miles at its greatest breadth and its area is 166 square miles. It is of coral origin and at certain points the coral reefs extend out to sea as far as three miles and are a menace to navigation. The island is low and flat, except in the central and northeastern part. Mount Hillaby, the highest peak, rises 1148 feet above sea-level and from it the land slopes in terraces in every direction. Carlisle bay on the southwest is a natural harbor, but only available for vessels of light draft. Barbados is densely populated. In 1906 the number of inhabitants was 196,287, of whom by far the greater number were negroes, who, in proportion to the whites, are as nine to one.

The climate is agreeable, with well-defined wet and dry seasons, and for eight months in the year the heat is modified by the northeast trade winds. The dry, or cold, period is from December to May. The temperature ranges from 70 degrees to 86 degrees Fahrenheit, seldom falling below 65. There is a plentiful rainfall, the annual average being sixty inches, and September is the wettest month. Moisture readily penetrates the coral subsoil and collects in subterranean reservoirs. Porous soil, thorough cultivation and the absence of swamps give miasma no opportunity and fever is unknown, but hurricanes are the scourge of the colony. The soil is thin, but extremely fertile, and there is a theory that it was originally formed of volcanic ash, carried by the winds from St. Vincent during times when La Soufrière was in eruption.

It is said that the Portuguese were the first Europeans to visit the island; be this as it may, they never took possession of it. A British ship touched there in 1605, and, finding no inhabitants, annexed it in the name of King James I. Since that time British ownership has continued without interruption. An actual settlement was established in 1625, in which year the king made a grant of the island to Lord Leigh, afterward the Earl of Marlborough. Bridgetown, the present capital, was founded in 1628.

Barbados was the first of Great Britain’s island colonies to grow sugar cane. The plant was brought there in 1642 during Philip Bell’s governorship, and slaves were imported at the same time. A number of Dutch who were expelled from Brazil in 1655 took refuge in the island, and their knowledge of sugar and experience in its manufacture did much to stimulate the industry. Beginning with the middle of the seventeenth century, Barbados became an important sugar-producing center.