Sugar plantation economy and the Atlantic slave trade in the Spanish Caribbean (16th–early 19th century)

1. Sugarcane introduced to Hispaniola

   Jan 1, 1493Labels: Hispaniola, Christopher Columbus

   • St John Hist
   • Cultivated Plants

2. First colonial sugar mills develop on Hispaniola

   Jan 1, 1516Labels: Ingenio, Hispaniola

   • UNESCO WHC
   • Santo Domingo

3. Asiento system begins large-scale slave supply contracts

   Jan 1, 1517Labels: Asiento system, Spanish Crown

   • Britannica

4. Hispaniola sugar export economy expands before mid-century

   Jan 1, 1550Labels: Hispaniola, Sugar export

   • Cultivated Plants
   • UNESCO WHC

5. Treaty of Utrecht grants Britain the slave-trade asiento

   Apr 11, 1713Labels: Treaty of, South Sea

   • Britannica
   • NYPL

6. Havana Company formed to boost Cuban slave imports

   Jan 1, 1740Labels: Havana Company, Cuba

   • Britannica Cuba

7. British capture of Havana accelerates sugar-and-slavery expansion

   Aug 14, 1762Labels: Capture of, Seven Years'

   • Siege Havana
   • Britannica Cuba

8. Spain gains African bases amid slave-trade policy shifts

   Mar 11, 1778Labels: Fernando Poo, Annob n

   • Treaty El Pardo
   • Revista Indias

9. Spain issues 1778 comercio libre regulation

   Oct 12, 1778Labels: Comercio Libre, Bourbon reforms

   • Reglamento 1778

10. Haitian Revolution helps drive Cuba’s sugar boom

    Aug 22, 1791Labels: Haitian Revolution, Cuba

    • Britannica Cuba
    • Valle Ingenios

11. Royal Decree of Graces promotes Puerto Rico plantation growth

    Aug 10, 1815Labels: Royal Decree, Puerto Rico

    • Decree 1815

12. Spain–Britain treaty sets deadline to end Spanish slave trade

    May 30, 1820Labels: Spain Britain, British abolitionism

    • Hansard 1818
    • Britannica Cuba