I'm John Batchler. I'm continuing with Daniel Rood. Professor, in the shadow of the great house is his new book.

This is about the plantation system, the great house. And we go now to Cuba, because I learned from

the professor that Cuba was a profit center for sugar, and probably still is, although the island's been badly managed

for more of the majority of a century. So we're looking at possibly discovering that the land

has been abused again. We don't know, but we do know that in the mid-19th century,

coterminous with the Civil War, Cuba planted thousands of acres of sugar and sugar cane.

And, Professor, I'm noting that they followed the plantation system. Was that purposeful?

Had it always been in Cuba? No, Cuba actually becomes a plantation system somewhat late um it's not until the end of the

1700s um that they involved themselves fully into sugar production uh one of the big reasons they

that um that they really get involved is the Haitian revolution. For people who don't know this

story, up until 1791, the French colony of San Doming, current day Haiti and the Republic

of Santo Domingo, and the Dominican Republic, excuse me, that French island is the number one sugar producer on the planet.

Fabulous fortunes are being made there.

But in connection with the French Revolution that breaks out, a massive slave uprising occurs in 1791.

And a shifting alliance of African-born slaves and free men of color in Sandomang

succeed in overthrowing French power by 1803.

And so what, and it's amazing because Napoleon amazing because Napoleon, um, even though the French revolutionary

governments had abolished slavery in all French territories, Napoleon reinstitute slavery. And he sent

one of the biggest armies ever to cross the Atlantic to reconquer the island and, and those troops lost,

uh, largely to yellow fever, um, but, but also to the now experienced guerrilla fighters.

So what that means is there is now this big hole in European markets for the sugar that they are consuming in greater and greater amounts.

Cuban entrepreneurs immediately want to get into that.

...