Reformas coloniales, economía y especialización productiva en Puerto Rico y Cuba, 1760-1850

Abstract

In the last third of the 18th Century and the early decades of 19th Century the economies of Puerto Rico and Cuba started a process of strong expansion and especialization, mainly in the area of sugar production. This was aided by both exceptionally favourable conditions at international level, and the launching of policies designed to take advantage of such conditions and to furnish the islands with internally scarce resources. While in Cuba these policies just meant the promotion of a process already launched, they were decisive for Puerto Rico and explain the growth experimented therefrom. That is the reason why in this latter country the growing period held up at the end of 1830, when those special international conditions ended and the reforming phase of the Colonial administration came to a close. On the contrary, at that very moment Cuba started its greatest expansive phase due to the fact that the coming difficulties were coped with technological and organizational changes permitting the maintenance and even improvement of the ‘ingenios’ competing conditions.