HISTORICAL CONSPECTUS 607 



1624-1645. The Dutch occupation of Brazil. In 1654 the Portuguese 

 expelled the Dutch from Brazil, who, migrating to the Antilles, aided 

 in the establishment of a sugar industry there, Benjamin Acosta, a Dutch 

 Jew, founding that of Martinique. 



1637. Sugar first exported from Java. The Dutch East India Company 

 conducted a scheme of sugar production in connection with native 

 growers. 



1640 (cirea). Beginning of the British (St. Kitts, Barbados, etc.) and of the 

 French (Guadeloupe, Martinique) industries. 



1651. The Navigation Laws of Oliver Cromwell greatly stimulated the 

 British refining trade. 



1659. The first German operatives^ introduced into Great Britain. From 

 this time right up to the beginning of the nineteenth century they 

 dominated the British refining industry, reducing the owners to a state 

 of abject dependence. 



1660. Sir Thomas Moddyford planted the first cane in Jamaica. 

 1664. Jan Doenson erected a horse -driven mill in Essequebo. 



1669. The first refinery (The Western Sugar House) built in the Clyde 

 district. 



1670. Jesuits carried the cane to Argentina. 



1688. Fifty refineries were operating in Great Britain. 



1689. A refinery was working in New York on Liberty Street. 

 1697. The French in possession of Santo Domingo. 



1700-1800. The period of greatest prosperity in the West Indies, Santo 

 Domingo and Jamaica being the largest individual producers. Towards 

 the end of this century the total West Indian production reached 250,000 

 tons. The Dutch in Java systematically restricted production in order 

 to maintain prices. 



1700 (circa). Pere Labat introduced many improvements in the French 

 West Indies. 



1747. Mahe de la Bourdonnais initiated the Mauritian industry. 



Margraff isolated cane sugar from the beetroot. 

 1751. The Jesuits carried the cane to Louisiana. 

 1768. Bougainville brought the Otaheite cane to Mauritius. 



1778. Saint-Hill introduced the syphon-float system of defecation in 

 Jamaica, and also the use of lime. 



1782. Cossigny brought Java canes to Mauritius. 



1789. The Otaheite and Java canes brought by the French to the West 

 Indies. 



1791. The slave rebellion in Santo Domingo. Disappearance of the 

 industry there. Many white refugees escaping to Cuba developed sugar 

 production in that island. 



1793. Bligh brought the Otaheite cane to Jamaica, and its introduction 

 combined with the elimination of Dominican competition gave to the 

 British West Indies their most prosperous era. 



