208 



COTTON. 



CUBA. 



This includes the shipments from the differ- 

 ent ports, but not the amount consumed in the 

 Southern States, which was about 60,000 bales. 

 The following figures will serve for the pur- 

 poses of a general comparison of the resources 

 of the country derived from this one product 

 at different periods: Total crop in 1821-2, 

 455,000 bales; in 1830-1, 1,038,848; in 1841-2, 

 1,683,574; in 1850-1, 2,355,257; in 1857-8, 

 3,113,962; in 1859-60, 4,669,770; in 1865-6, 

 2,193,987; in 1866-7, 2,019,774; in 1867-8, 

 2,593,993 ; in 1868-9, 2,439,039. 



The crop of Sea Island cotton for the past 

 year has been as follows : In Florida, 6,748 

 bales ; Georgia, 6,480 ; South Carolina, 5,454 : 

 Total, 18,682. This is the smallest amount re- 

 corded for many years. 



The average weekly consumption of cotton 

 in Great Britain for the year 1868-'69 was 

 about 3,000 bales less than in 1867-'68, while 

 the Continent of Europe and the United States 

 together consumed about 3,000 less per week. 

 The supply on hand at the beginning of the 

 new year (September 1st) was about 330,000 

 less than it was one year before. 



The exportation of cotton from various 

 ports of this country during the past year, as 

 compared with the preceding year and with 

 1860, is exhibited in the following table : 



Of this amount, 976,986 bales were received 

 at Liverpool; 224,101 at Havre; 110,822 at 

 Bremen; 34,011 at Barcelona; 31,841 at Ham- 

 burg; and 70,259 at other ports. 



The prices of cotton during the year ending 

 August 30, 1869, have been as follows, at Liv- 

 erpool and New York : 



In 1867-'68 the maximum price was 42 cents 

 at New York, and 15 pence at Liverpool ; the 

 minimum 25 cents at New York, and 10 pence 

 at Liverpool. 



The growth of cotton in other countries 

 has been somewhat less than during the pre- 

 ceding year. In India the season was un- 

 favorable, and the product did not exceed 

 1,500,000 bales of 394 pounds each. About 

 230,000 bales were produced in Egypt ; 12,- 

 500 in Turkey, the Levant, etc. ; and 707,500 

 in Brazil, Peru, and the "West Indies. The 

 entire production of cotton in the world in the 

 year 1869 has been estimated at 5,000,000 

 bales, while the consumption amounted to 

 about 6,000,000, leaving an apparent deficit in 

 the supply for the coming year of 1,000,000 

 bales. 



CUBA. The most important island of the 

 Western Hemisphere. It has always from the 

 time of its discovery been a dependency of 

 Spain. Several attempts have been made to 

 establish its independence, but failed. The 

 most important movement of this kind is the 

 revolution which broke out in 1868,* and 

 which, at the close of the year 1869, was not 

 entirely subdued. The area of the island is 

 48,489 square miles, it being nearly equal to 

 the area of Belgium, Holland, Denmark, and 

 Switzerland, taken together. The population 

 is increasing with great rapidity ; it had, ac- 

 cording to official returns, 170,370 inhabitants 

 in 1775; 551,998 in 1817; 704,487 in 1827 

 (311,051 white, 106,494 free colored, 286,942 

 slaves) ; in 1846, 898,752 (425,767 white, 149,226 

 free colored, 323,759 slaves) ; in 1862, 1,359,238 

 (864,754 white, 225,938 free colored, 368,550 

 slaves). The island is divided into three prov- 

 inces. The government is vested in a Captain- 

 General, who is the military commander of the 

 whole island, and the civil governor of one of 

 the three provinces. The chief towns of Cuba 

 are Havana, Santiago, Matanzas, Santa Clara, 

 Santa Maria, and Trinidad. According to the 

 new Spanish Constitution, Cuba is to be rep- 

 resented hereafter in the Spanish Cortes, but 

 no representatives were elected in the course 

 of the year 1869. 



The commencement of the insurrection of 

 1868 was the issue of a document by tn'e " Jun- 

 ta of the Laborers," which, after enumerating 

 the wrongs and insults inflicted upon the Cu- 

 bans by Spain, thus states the principles on 

 which their revolution is based : 



The laborers, animated by the love for their native 



* See the article SPAIN in the AMERICAN ANNUAL CT 



1868. 



