During the nineteenth century Vega Baja, a municipio on the north coast of Puerto Rico, was of only modest significance as a producer of sugar compared to some other municipios on the island. It contained ten cane-growing haciendas of which only three might be classified as large on the basis of revenues, work force, and capital invested. Labor statistics give another measure of the scope of activity in the municipio. Between 1838 and 1867, the total number of laborers on the haciendas increased from 537 to 741 while slaves as a percentage of the total declined from 88 percent to 40 percent (p. 166). The attraction of Vega Baja to the author was not its economic role but rather the excellence of its municipal archives, which are particularly rich in demographic data.
The author begins with a discussion of land use and society of the presugar economy, describes the introduction of sugar cane, and then analyzes the society the sugar economy created. The chapter on the landowners focuses on their national origins and on the extent of their holdings. The chapters on the slaves and on the switch from slave to free labor are in large part commentaries on tables that show age structures, birth rates, occupations, marital status, and the changing ratio of slave to free. The final chapter is a discussion of the haciendas as commercial enterprises and ends with the building of the first central factory in 1873.
The result is an interesting case study, but one that does not offer any new interpretations or insights. It is a pity the author did not include a chapter on the changes brought by the central factory. A map would also have been a useful addition.
