Published Works

Document Type

Article

Disciplines

Latin American History | Latin American Studies | Other Anthropology | Other International and Area Studies

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis was to address an important element in the study of the sugar cane industry in Puerto Rico that has been neglected in its literature: water. By analyzing the failure of the Guayama Irrigation Project of 1864-1866, the thesis showcased the importance of water and the establishment of irrigation projects to local hacendados as an strategy to address the vulnerability that the sugar cane industry at the time was facing: falling prices, low capacity, and the ever present danger of droughts, which the colonial government was unable to solve for lack of liquid capital.

Comments

Warning: This is a Master's Project thesis done in 1997, so please forgive me for the amateurish writing and the outdated citations. But the archival sources and the main topic addressed in this study still have relevance today in Puerto Rico and I hope posting this old thesis will inspire other to further study the role of water in the sugar industry both in the 19th and 20th century.

Recommended Citation

Ramos, Marisol. 1997. "Water, Sugar, and Power : Irrigation in Southern Puerto Rico during the Late Nineteenth Century." Master of Art, State University of New York - Albany.

Share

COinS