At the beginning of the Chilean war the output was approximately 80,000 tons. In 1905 the production of sugar and molasses was 159,294 long tons, and 132,222 tons of this were exported.
The following table gives the outturn in long tons since 1905:
The possibilities for expansion in Peru’s sugar industry are large. Further impounding and conservation of the flood waters from the mountains would bring under cultivation many thousands of acres that are now unproductive. Good flowing wells have been sunk on some estates, and it is likely that many more will be found, thus adding substantially to the present water supply. As to cost, it would seem that Peru should be able to compete successfully with other cane-growing countries. The plantation lands are level or slightly sloping, so that cultivating machinery may be used to good advantage. Grinding can be carried on without interruption throughout the year, which means economical factory capacity and an even distribution of labor. The cost of labor, too, is reasonable, and great quantities of fertilizers lie close at hand. In short, Peru enjoys many advantages, and if her planters and refiners keep pace with scientific development, she will take a prominent place among the cane-sugar countries of the world.
BRAZIL
Brazil is the largest political division of South America. Its area is 3,270,000 square miles, or slightly greater than that of the United States, excluding Alaska. From Cape Orange, in 4 degrees 21 minutes north latitude, it extends 2629 miles southward to the river Chuy, in 33 degrees 45 minutes south latitude, and from Olinda 2691 miles west to the Peruvian border, between 34 degrees 50 minutes and 73 degrees 50 minutes west longitude. According to the latest census returns at hand, the population numbers 20,515,000.
Speaking generally, Brazil is a tropical country with sub-tropical and temperate regions in the south and in a large part of the high central plateau. The sugar-producing states are Maranhão, Rio Grande do Norte, Parahyba, Pernambuco, Alagoas, Sergipe, Bahia, Minas Geraes, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. The plantations themselves lie between 4 degrees and 21 degrees south latitude, and being swept by the moisture-laden eastern trade winds, they receive a fair amount of rain during the wet season, that is, from January to May.
Traces of a vanished civilization had already given rise to the belief that the history of Brazil, like that of Mexico and Peru, extended far into remote ages, when, in 1845, the discovery in the interior of the country of the ruins of a large and very ancient city, with magnificent buildings bearing inscriptions in unknown characters, confirmed this opinion.
Nevertheless, the known history of Brazil dates only from the end of the fifteenth century. It was discovered in February, 1499, by Vicente Yañez Pinzon, a companion of Columbus. The following year it was annexed to Portugal by Pedro Alvares Cabral, but the new territory received little attention from the Portuguese monarchs until 1531, when an attempt at colonization was made. Shortly afterward a sugar mill was erected in São Vicente Piratininga, now São Paulo, and as the soil and climate of that part of the country were well adapted to cane culture, the industry grew and other factories were built. In 1580 there were 120 mills, the greater number being in Bahia and Pernambuco. That same year Philip II of Spain usurped the crown of Portugal, and Brazil, with the rest of the Portuguese possessions, came under Spanish rule. Under the new régime she was exposed to attack by powerful foes. Dutch forces occupied Bahia in 1624, only to be expelled by the Spaniards a year later; in 1629, however, they obtained a foothold in Pernambuco. They took Olinda and its port, but were unable to extend their influence beyond the borders of the town until the arrival of the newly appointed governor, Count John Maurice of Nassau-Siegen, in 1636. This able executive carried the Dutch dominion along the coast from the mouth of the São Francisco to Maranhão, and an expedition sent out by him captured Angola and São Thomé on the west African coast, thus securing a supply of negro slaves, while depriving the enemy of them. He did much to build up the sugar industry, so severely crippled by the war, and when in 1644 he resigned his post, the importance of Brazil as a sugar-producing country had been re-established. The Portuguese threw off the yoke of Spain in 1640 and immediately set about to retake their former colony, Brazil. After years of fighting, the Dutch were finally overcome and in 1655 a government decree drove them from the country. This banishment deprived Brazil of the Dutch sugar planters, with their slaves, their capital, their practical knowledge and skill. From the time of their exodus the Brazilian sugar industry began to decline. The greater number of these refugees established themselves in the West Indies, where they again engaged in sugar planting with marked success.