Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T08:22:54.822Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Old Cuba Trade: Highlights and Case Studies of Cuban-American Interdependence during the Nineteenth Century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 July 2012

Roland T. Ely
Roland T. Ely
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor of History, Rutgers University
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The profitability and the mechanisms of the old Cuban sugar trade are illustrated through Professor Ely's study of the leading businessmen involved.

Type
Research Article
Information
Business History Review , Volume 38 , Issue 4 , Winter 1964 , pp. 456 - 478
Copyright
Copyright © The President and Fellows of Harvard College 1964

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Quoted in Morison, Samuel Eliot, Admiral of the Ocean Sea (Boston, 1949), p. 279.Google Scholar

2 de la Pezuela y Lobo, Jacobo, Diccionario geográfico, estadístico, histórico de la isla de Cuba (4 vols., Madrid, 1863–1866), vol. II, p. 31.Google Scholar

3 The Guía de forasteros en La Habana, para el año 1781 lists 480 sugar estates. Memorias de la Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País, vol. 25 (Havana, 1842), p. 126. A copy of the Guía (first of its kind to be printed in Cuba) was incorporated into the records of the Sociedad Económica (originally founded in 1793 as the Real Sociedad Patriótica de La Habana). Alexander von Humboldt set the number at about 800 in 1817. The Island of Cuba, “Preliminary Essay,” notes and English translation by John S. Thrasher (New York, 1856), p. 271. The Census of 1827 placed the total number of sugar plantations around 1,000, which together were producing 8,000,000 arrobas (of 25 lbs. each); this against 453 mills in the year 1775, with an output of only 1,300,000 arrobas. Cuadro estadístico de la siempre fiel isla de Cuba, correspondiente al año de 1827 (Havana, 1829), p. 28.

4 Total exports of sugar from Cuba averaged 1,090,438 arrobas between 1786 and 1790. For the period 1826–1830, this figure had risen to an average of 6,508,137 arrobas. Erénchun, Félix, Anales de la isla de Cuba: Diccionario administravtivo, económico, estadístico y legislativo (4 vols., Havana, 1856–1861), vol. I, p. 827.Google Scholar Boxes of sugar (averaging 450 lbs. each) exported from Havana alone, showed a similar upward spiral: from 77,896 boxes in 1790, to 264,954 in 1827. Revista económica (Havana, 1879), vol. II, no. 32, pp. 252–53.

5 In 1776, Adam Smith asserted that St. Domingue “is now the most important of the sugar colonies of the West Indies, and its produce is said to be greater than that of all the English sugar colonies put together.” An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, ed. by Rogers, James E. Thorold (2 vols., Oxford, 1880), vol. II, p. 151.Google Scholar According to Reesse (De Suikerhandel van Amsterdam), production of sugar in the New World was as follows during the late 18th century: French Colonies (1788), 95,045 tons; British Colonies (1781–1785 average), 78,029 tons; Brazil (1796), 34,276 tons; Danish Colonies (1768), 20,550 tons; Cuba (1790), 13,993 tons; Dutch Colonies (1785), 8,892 tons. Cited in Geerligs, H. C. Prinsen, General History of the Cane Sugar Industry (Manchester, England, 1919), p. 11.Google Scholar

6 American State Papers: Commerce and Navigation (Washington, 1832), vol. I, pp. 24–33, 36–37.

7 Edwards, Bryan, The History, Civil and Commercial, of the British West Indies (5 vols., London, 1819), vol. III, p. 144.Google Scholar

8 For 1841, to pick a year at random, Ramón de la Sagra calculated that the total consumption of sugar in the United States amounted to 150,000,000 kilograms (c. 165,000 tons). Historia física, política y natural de Cuba (12 vols., Paris, 1838–1842), vol. II, p. 78. Louisiana's crop for 1841 came to about 90,000 hogsheads (1,150 lbs. each) – some 52,000 tons, or less than one-third of the domestic demand. Champonier, P. A., Statement of the Sugar Crop Made in Louisiana in 1859–60 (New Orleans, 1860), pp. vi, 43.Google Scholar In 1859, U. S. consumption of sugar (excluding California and Oregon) was estimated at 431,000 tons, of which only 130,000 tons were produced in the American South. Cited from DeBoto's Review in J. Carlyle Sitterson, Sugar Country (Lexington, Ky., 1953), p. 44.

9 U. S. Department of the Treasury, Annual Reports by the Secretary of the Treasury, Commerce and Navigation (Washington, beginning 1821), 1835, pp. 268–69Google Scholar; 1840, pp. 116–17, 198–99; 1845, pp. 224–25; 1850, pp. 306–307; 1855, pp. 326–27; 1860, pp. 548–49; 1865, pp. 356–57. In 1835, the four leading countries were: England & Scotland, $112,490,000; France, $42,670,000; Cuba, $16,850,000; Germany (Hanse Towns), $7,370,000. Thirty years later, the standings were as follows: England & Scotland, $218,660,000; Canada, $65,670,000; Cuba, $50,690,000; Mexico, $24,370,000. Unlike commerce with the United Kingdom and Canada, almost the entire U. S. trade with Cuba was conducted in American vessels until the Civil War.

10 Balance, May 24, 1882, Moses Taylor, Private Balances, 1880–1882, Moses Taylor Collection (New York Public Library).

11 Moses Taylor (New York, 1876), reprint in pamphlet form from New York Sunday Herald, December 5, 1869, p. 8; New York Tribune, May 24, 1882; New York Times, May 24, 1882; William Bristol Shaw, “Moses Taylor,” Dictionary of American Biography, Allen Johnson and Dumas Malone, eds., vol. XVIII (New York, 1936), p. 338.

12 Albion, Robert G., The Rise of New York Port (New York, 1939), p. 174Google Scholar and Square-Riggers on Schedule (Princeton, N. J., 1938), p. 101.

13 Although Moses Taylor lost his Ledgers and Journals from 1832 through 1834 in New York's famous fire of December, 1835, he did succeed in saving the Accounts Current back to 1833. The latter shows that he owed his father some $22,000 in December 1833; $36,000 three years later. He did not completely discharge this debt until 1840. The elder Taylor apparently acquired most of his modest fortune in the service of John Jacob Astor, the great fur-trader and land-speculator. He was variously described as Astor's “confidential and advisory agent,” “a sort of chief businessman,” and even as Astor's “rent collector.” Moses Taylor, p. 5; Scoville, Joseph A., The Old Merchants of New York City (New York, c. 1862, 1885, and 1899), 1885 ed., vol. II, pp. 369–70.Google Scholar

14 Individual transactions often ran into tens of thousands of dollars; later hundreds of thousands. The following of Moses Taylor's private account books have survived: (1) Ledgers, 1842–1854, 1855–1865, 1866–1874, 1875–1879; (2) Journals, 1855–1862, 1862–1864, 1865–1871, 1872–1876, 1876–1881; (3) Balances, 1880–1882.

15 Moses Taylor, Ledger “B,” p. 30; Stock A/C, Profit & Loss, and A/C Percy R. Pyne in Moses Taylor & Co., Ledgers “A” & “B;” Balances, December 31, 1849–1854, Moses Taylor & Co., Journals “B,” “D,” “F” & “G.”

16 Stock A/C, M. T. & Co., Ledger “B;” Balance, December 31, 1854, M. T. & Co., Journal “G.” The two principals pledged that they: “Do agree to become partners in selling on commission, sugars and molasses and such other goods as may be consigned to them for sale; and also in the carrying of merchandise, freight and passengers in such vessels as shall be owned or employed by the said Moses Taylor and Percy R. Pyne for such purposes …” Photostatic copies of original “Articles of Agreement” between Taylor and Pyne (dated December 30, 1854) were in the possession of Lawrence Turnure & Co. (50 Broadway, New York) as late as the 1950's.

17 M. T. & Co., Account Sales “D,” pp. 236–403; “E,” pp. 1–98; “I,” pp. 143–338.

18 Although M. T. & Co. Ledger ‘E” (1862–1865) and Journals “Q” (1862–1863) & “R” (1863–1864) have long since disappeared, the firm's net profits for 1862 and 1863 can be found through Moses Taylor's private books of account, where he credited his two-thirds share to Profit & Loss. Using M. T. & Co. Journals “S” (1864–1865) and “T” (1865–1866), it is possible to reconstruct key accounts in the missing Ledger “E” for the years 1864 and 1865.

19 Total U. S. imports of sugar ($23,592,433) broke down as follows for 1865: New York, $16,248,899; Boston, $3,256,156; Philadelphia, $2,706,891; San Francisco, $451,546; New Orleans, $356,085; all others, $572,856. Commerce and Navigation, 1865, pp. 499, 500.

20 Imports of Cuban sugars in 1865 were valued at $20,970,000. Ibid., pp. 333–334, 535.

21 After a childhood in Matanzas, where his father had been a merchant, Adams began his own commercial career with the Howland brothers, in New York. At nineteen, he went off to Venezuela and married the daughter of a high government official, which considerably assisted his activities in the export trade there. When an untimely revolution forced him to close up shop in La Guaira, he moved to Santiago, Cuba, where he became a partner of Thomas Brooks, the town's leading merchant. President Fillmore appointed him U. S. Consul there in 1850, and he remained in Santiago until joining Moses Taylor & Co. in 1865. James Truslow Adams, Adams Family Record, unpublished typescript in the possession of Mrs. Richard Brooks (formerly of Havana), pp. 7, 11–13.

22 Stock A/C, Profit & Loss, and A/C Lawrence Turnure, M. T. & Co., Ledger “F;” Balance, December 31, 1866, M. T. & Co., Journal “U;” “Articles of Agreement” between Taylor, Pyne, Turnure and Adams, Lawrence Turnure & Co.

23 Commission A/C and Interest A/C, M. T., Ledgers “B” through “F,” Journals “A” through “N;” M. T. & Co., Ledgers “A” through “F,” Journals “A” through “T.”

24 Taking five-year intervals from 1835 to 1865, the balance of trade averaged 1.9 to 1 in Cuba's favor, hitting a high of 2.7 to 1 in 1860. Commerce and Navigation, 1835, pp. 268–69; 1840, pp. 116–17, 198–99; 1845, pp. 224–25; 1850, pp. 306–307; 1855, pp. 326–27; 1860, pp. 548–49; 1865, pp. 356–57.

25 They actually declined from $172,041, in 1860, to $162,296 five years later. M. T. & Co., Invoices Outward “C,” pp. 124–217 and “E,” pp. 46–101. During the same interval, the firm's Account Sales of Cuban produce rose from $1,814,818 to $4,434,050. M. T. & Co., Account Sales “G,” pp. 89–259 and “I,” pp. 143–338.

26 M. T., Vessels Accounts, “A” through “F;” Profit & Loss, M. T., Ledgers “B” through “F;” Balances, December 31, 1835–1848, M. T., Journals “B” through “N;” M. T. & Co., Vessels Accounts, “A” through “C;” Profit & Loss, M. T. & Co., Ledgers “A” through “D;” Balances, December 31, 1849–1865, M. T. & Co., Journals “A” through “S.”

27 Ibid.

28 M. T. & Co., Account Sales “A,” pp. 115–287; “D,” pp. 236–403; “E,” pp. 1–98.

29 The Howland brothers' Cuban properties included the “El Dorado” sugar plantation, near Sagua la Grande; and the coffee estates, “Ontario” and “Mt. Vemon,” in the vicinity of Matanzas. George W. Brinkerhoff to Henry A. Coit, January 7, 1843 and May 11, 1848. George W. Brinkerhoff File, Moses Taylor Collection. “Santa Ana” & “Ontario” Estates, Henry A. Coit File, Moses Taylor Collection. Gardiner Greene Howland continued to visit the family estates in Cuba down to 1851, the last year of his life. J. M. Morales to Coit, November 30, 1851. José María Morales File, Moses Taylor Collection. Further mention will be made of Coit and his cousin, Brinkerhoff.

30 If Taylor ever did so, there is absolutely no record of such transactions in either his private books of account, or those kept for the commission business at 44 South Street.

31 Ignacio de Arrieta to Moses Taylor & Co., August 18, 1852. Arrieta File, Moses Taylor Collection. Two years later, the Arrietas were offering even better terms for “an advance of about $150,000, partly payable present year & balance in several installments, they allowing interest of 9 or 10% & one-quarter of a real per arroba [c. 3¢ per 25 lbs.] on 9,000 Boxes; and the principal guarantee being the actual sales of the crops until fully reimbursed.” They also promised, as collateral, a large block of shares in the Santiago Copper Mines in Oriente Province. Morales to Coit, August 21, 1854.

32 de Arboleya, José García, Manual de la isla de Cuba; compendio de su historia, geografía, estadística y administración (Havana, 1852 ed.), pp. 133–34.Google Scholar Ignacio and his brother, Joaquín de Arrieta, apparently fared well enough without the loans they sought in New York. By the late 1850's, “Flor de Cuba” had over 700 slaves and was making 18,000 boxes of sugar annually. Only one other estate on the island manufactured more sugar, and one other as much. Ibid., 1859 ed., pp. 137–38. At an average price in Cuba of $ 18 per box during these years, one crop alone was worth considerably more than $300,000.

33 Mrs. Ann Phinney to Moses Taylor, March 4, 1854. Phinney-Quintana File, Moses Taylor Collection. Moses Taylor to Mrs. Ann Phinney, March 24, 1854. M. T. & Co., Letter Book “G,” p. 217. The Phinneys had originally come from Bristol, R. I., but the second generation intermarried with various Cuban Creole families such as the Quintanas and eventually lost all traces of their New England background. For a Swedish visitor's account of “gentle, motherly” Mrs. Ann Phinney, “one of the best hearts in the world,” and life on a medium-sized plantation during the 1850'8, see: Bremer, Fredrika, The Homes of the New World: Impressions of America, English trans, by Howitt, Mary (2 vols., New York, 1858), vol. II, pp. 353–55, 367.Google Scholar

34 His first son, for instance, was named Henry Augustus Coit Taylor. Pyne, Moses Taylor, Descendents of Galcerán de Pinós in Spain, France, England, and America (New York, 1915), p. 98.Google Scholar Childless himself, Coit was very much attached to his “little name sake,” who seems to have been “the pet of his father.” Coit to Taylor, January 2, 1859. Henry A. Coit Files, Moses Taylor Collection. Another namesake, Henry Augustus Coit (1830–1895), son of his brother, Joseph Howland Coit, became the first Rector of fashionable St. Paul's School, in Concord, Chapman, N. H. F. W., The Coit Family, or the Descendants of John Coit (Hartford, 1874)Google Scholar, sections 1464–1465.

35 James Drake to Coit, January 29, 1853. James Drake File, Moses Taylor Collection. James Drake, Sr., came out from England in the 1790's and established himself as a merchant in Havana. The English firm of Kleinwort Sons & Co. traces its origins to James Drake's Cuban counting-house. C. G. Elbra (Kleinwort Sons & Co., Ltd., London) to Roland T. Ely, April 6, 1954. Like many foreigners before and after his time, the elder Drake succumbed to the charms of a Cuban criolla (Creole girl) and married the aristocratic Carlota del Castillo” whose family had distinguished themselves as soldiers, churchmen, merchants, and colonizers on the island for more than a century. The del Castillo title, Marqués de San Felipe y Santiago, dated back to 1713 and carried the higher honor of grandeza (grandee of Spain) with it. They were listed among the top six families of Cuba by Salas y Quiroga, a peninsular Spaniard, in 1840. Drake Estates File, passim, Moses Taylor Collection; Calendario, manual y guta de forasteros de la isla de Cuba para el año de 1792 (Havana, 1792), p. 159; Rosain, Domingo, Necrópolis de La Habana (Havana, 1875), p. 63Google Scholar; Pezuela, Diccionario, vol. I, pp. 357–58; Alfonso, Pedro Antonio, Memorias de un matancero (Matanzas, 1854), pp. 106–108, 110–11, 226Google Scholar; Jacinto de Salas y Quiroga, Viages: Isla de Cuba (Madrid, 1840), p. 94; Guía de forasteros de la siempre fiel isla de Cuba para el año de 1864 (Havana, 1864), pp. 77–78.

36 Coit to Taylor, July 11, 1838.

37 Coit to Taylor, April 17, 1838.

38 New York Tribune, May 24, 1882; Hallam, George, Narrative of a Voyage from Montego Bay, in the Island of Jamaica, to England … across the Island of Cuba to Havana (London, 1831), pp. 8, 14–15, 24, 44, 60Google Scholar; DeWolfe, M. A. (ed.), The Articulate Sisters: Passages from the Journals and Letters of the Daughters of President Josiah Quincy of Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass., 1946), pp. 100, 102, 116.Google Scholar

39 Percy Pyne, who had worked hard at mastering Spanish and understanding the Latin temperament, was able to take over many of Coit's functions in this quarter during later years. “I have written to you in this particular, and not to Moses Taylor,” one wealthy Cuban planter explained to Pyne; “because as you know Spanish, it is not necessary for an interpreter to enter into this business, which is very confidential and especially entrusted to you for my protection.” Romón Fernández Criado y Gómez to Pyne, September 8, 1864. Fernández Criado y Gómez File, Moses Taylor Collection.

40 “T shall never forget how Mr. Taylor received me,” Cyrus Field (of Atlantic cable fame) later recalled. “He fixed on me his keen eye, as if he would look through me, for nearly an hour without saying a word.” Quoted in Field, Henry Martin, History of the Atlantic Telegraph (New York, 1866), p. 39.Google Scholar Or, as another of Taylor's acquaintances observed, “There was little argument. With him, so to speak, it was a word and a blow.” Clews, Henry, Twenty-eight Years in Wall Street (New York, 1888), pp. 676–77.Google Scholar

41 Before Coit moved into Taylor's counting-house, he had already proved his usefulness in this respect. Early in 1834, to cite the most important occasion, he saved Taylor's business with one José Joaquín de Alcázar, of Havana. Alcazar's consignments amounted to $237,000 the following year, or about 45 per cent of Taylor's total sales of Cuban produce; so it was a very serious matter indeed. M. T., Account Sales “B,” pp. 108–232. Not a few modern American businessmen might have saved themselves and their companies considerable grief in dealing with Latin Americans, had they been able to study Coit's field report to Taylor, which merits quotation at some length. He wrote: “I was in Havana a few days since and had a conversation with Alcázar, who seemed to be piqued with you. He said he had always been very blind, and you had always been close. He sent you very handsome consignments; you sent him comparatively nothing. He had even sent you small presents, as tokens of personal regard; you had never sent him, in return, even a barrel of apples, or the most miserable momento … Alcázar is in some measure correct in entertaining these feelings. There is no nation so jealous of their dues for the little friendly services rendered as the Spanish — & no greater insult or slight can be shown to them in the non acknowledgement of favors bestowed, by reciprocal acts. Alcázar seems to be hurt, & I am very sorry for it, for he is really a young man of merit.” Coit to Taylor, April 12, 1834.

42 After which Taylor stoutly defended his friend's interests against vindictive creditors, including the Drakes. Taylor to Drake, January 25, 1858, M. T. & Co., Letter Book December 1857-March 1858, p. 456; Moses Taylor & Co. to Drake & Co., February 17, 1858, ibid., p. 741; Moses Taylor & Co. to J. M. Morales & Co. (Havana), March 11, 1858, M. T. & Co., Letter Book, March 1858-May 1858, p. 14; Drake to Taylor, January 2 and March 19, 1858.

43 One example should suffice. As Chairman of the summer's major social event at the celebrated United States Hotel, in Saratoga Springs, Coit explained to Taylor, “We came here for relaxation of mind & body & have adhered to our resolution … There is no caution here at all on the subject of politics & no talk of anything in fact, at the moment, but about the Fancy Ball to come off tomorrow night … But we must obey the will of the dear ladies.” Coit to Taylor, August 10, 1848.

44 Or as a member of one of Cuba's most distinguished sugar families put it: “With the object of mixing the useful with the agreeable, following the precept of Horace [65–8 B.C.], I propose … taking the waters at Saratoga.” Joaquín de Ayesterán to Coit, July 8, 1850. Joaquín de Ayesterán File, Moses Taylor Collection.

45 Coit to Taylor, August 5, 1840. “Saratoga,” the Drake family's crack sugar plantation near Bolondrón (Matanzas Province), paid tribute by its name to their pleasant sojourns at New York's famous spa. Morales to Coit, December 15, 1841 and August 6, 1842; William Cullen Bryant, “Letters from Cuba,” Living Age, vol. XXII (July-September, 1849), pp. 17–18.

46 Calcagno, Francisco, Diccionario biográfico cubano (New York, 1878), p. 247.Google Scholar As early as 1845, Charles “Drake del Castillo” appears to have been recognized as a man of some “influence” at the corrupt court of Isabel II (1833–1868). Domingo del Monte to Andrés de Arengo, April 17, 1845. Quoted in y Sánchez, Ramiro Guerra, Manual de historia de Cuba (Havana, 1938), p. 430.Google Scholar Charles Drake was made Count of Vega Mar in 1846; and the following year married the daughter of a Spanish grandee, who also hap pened to be a 6rst cousin of the future French Empress Eugénie. Morales to Coit, January 7 and October 21, 1847. He later became a Permanent Deputy of the Municipal Council of Havana, in Madrid, and an adviser to Spanish statesmen on Cuban problems. Informe y Exposición que sobre varios cuestiones referentes a la isla de Cuba ha dado el Conde de Vega Mar al Ministro de Ultramar (Madrid, 1868), p. 4.

47 Coit to Taylor, August 7, 1840.

48 Taylor to Messrs. Wood & Simmons (New Orleans), October 26, 1841. M. T., Letter Book No. 8, p. 307.

49 Coit to Taylor, August 11, 1840.

50 Morales to Coit, August 23, 1842. “But to tell you the honest truth,” Coit told Taylor several months later, apropos of the Drakes, “there is no other house in Havana equal to this in any one's respect as to resources, credit & influence, or with which it would be for my interest to be connected.” Coit to Taylor, January 14, 1843.

51 Coit to Taylor, December 16, 1842.

52 Coit to Taylor, December 16, 1842. And Coit was quick to keep his word. “I saw Llopart a day or two since,” he reported a week later, “and received from him the assurance of Ms entire satisfaction & that of his brother-in-law … with everything you have done for them.” He went on to quote Llopart as saying,” ‘I like Taylor, & as I have already done will continue to do him all the good I can/ “Coit to Taylor, January 23, 1843. In the same letter, Coit noted that Llopart had finally retired from the illegal but highly profitable African slave trade and was ploughing the proceeds into some of his more legitimate mercantile activities, particularly financing crops for planters, which would have enabled him to direct their produce to Taylor. He must have been doing fairly well for himself, because Coit was impressed by the “beautiful house which he lives in and owns, besides which he has others in this city.”

53 John J. Taylor to Moses Taylor, 1837–1838. John J. Taylor File. Moses Taylor Collection.

54 Coit to Taylor, January 17, 1843.

55 Coit also stuck to the “double standard” at home. Apparently Mrs. Coit was not present, when he penned the following personal note to Taylor from “Monte Rio,” his beautiful country seat near Dobbs Ferry. “If you are disposed to pass a quiet Sunday in the country, in the society of several interesting young ladies,” he suggested one Friday late in June, “I shall be pleased to afford you the opportunity of so doing the day after to morrow.” In any event, Coit announced that he would not be “in town” either Saturday, or Sunday, himself. Coit to Taylor, June 25, 1852.

56 Coit to Taylor, January 17, 1843.

57 Coit to Taylor, February 1, 1843. The House of Drake had paid 4 reales (50¢) per arroba (25 lbs.) for brown sugars and 8 reales ($1.00) for white — about 2¢ and 4¢ per lb., respectively.

58 Don Nicolás de la Cruz Brunet y Muñoz de Vêlez, Count of Casa Brunet, was one of the richest men in Trinidad. He subsequently moved to Europe, leaving his four sugar estates to the management of a younger brother, Luis. Francisco Marín Villafuerte, Historia de Trinidad, Revision, Prologue, Chapters 5 and 6, and Part V by Rafael Rodriguez Altunga (Havana, 1945), pp. 299, 307–309; Charles Edmonstone (Trinidad) to Moses Taylor & Co., February 11, 1861. Charles Edmonstone File, Moses Taylor Collection.

59 Brunet had just sold sugars from his Trinidad estates at 6 reales (75¢) for browns and 10 reales ($1.25) per arroba (25 lbs.) for whites, or about 3¢ and 5¢ per lb. Thus both brown and white sugars each advanced the equivalent of 1¢ per lb. after the Drakes made their purchases on the south shore. They had cornered 22,000 boxes already and expected 10,000 more, for a total of around 14,400,000 lbs. of sugar — 32,000 boxes at an average of 450 lbs. per box. On the 1¢ per lb. rise, this came to $144,000, whether their sugars were brown or white.

60 James (“Santiago”) Drake, Junior, amused himself outside the family counting-house by starting an omnibus line to Puentes Grandes, a pleasant suburb about three miles from down-town Havana in those days. His six-horse coaches carried sixteen passengers. Drake to Coit, February 28, 1842. Morales to Coit, September 15, 1842. He also began the first steamboat service between Cardenas and Sagua le Grande with the 110-ton Colonel Jewett (renamed Jején, or “Sandfly”), purchased through Coit and Moses Taylor for about $12,000. Bill of Sale Steamboat Col. Jewett and related papers, James Drake File. Drake to Coit, November 20, 1841 and Morales to Coit, December 13, 1841. Dr. J. G. F. Wurdermann gave an enthusiastic account of the two-day journey to Sagua la Grande on Drake's steam boat in his Notes on Cuba (Boston, 1844), pp. 278–82.

61 Coit to Taylor, December 16, 1842.

62 “Coit has been with us for a day,” Moses Taylor learned three weeks later from George W. Brinkerhoff, manager of the Drakes' Matanzas office; “he left here in Co. with Mr. Drake, Respinger & others, to visit the great river of Sagua la Grande, on which are situated the celebrated sugar Estates … They returned as far as Cárdenas some days since & are now enjoying themselves in the country.” Brinkerhoff to Taylor, January 7, 1843.

63 Taylor to Coit, January 20, 1843. Henry A. Coit File.

64 Taylor to Coit, May 12, 1847. In the same letter, Taylor recalled that, “I have never had cause to change my first opinion of entire confidence & respect for you.” Or, as Coit once remarked to his friend, “I look upon you almost as a part of myself.” Coit to Taylor, August 8, 1838.

65 The Royal Bank of Ferdinand VII was incorporated in 1827, but its business was largely restricted to discounting promissory notes and bills of exchange, and handling the colonial government accounts. Its capital was small and the management “too complicated to enable the institution to be of much practical use to the public.” Tumbull, David, Travels in the West. Cuba: with Notices of Porto Rico and the Slave Trade (London, 1840), pp. 96–97, 100.Google Scholar The Caja de Ahorros (Savings Bank) was founded in 1840, with an authorized capital of $120,000 (later raised to $500,000) in $100 shares. For all the “wise and conservative” management of its Director, Carlos del Castillo (a cousin of the Drakes), this bank was of no use to planters in need of credit. Pezuela, Diccionario, vol. III, p. 330.

66 The Royal Discount Bank, started in 1854, served as a model for its successor, the Spanish Bank of Havana. Established two years later, the latter discounted letters of exchange, promissory notes, and other negotiable documents; made 90-day loans on mer chandise, produce, corporate equities, or specie; accepted deposits of coin and bullion; carried current accounts with individuals and corporations, negotiated and drew letters of exchange, and entered into various financial contracts with the government. Ibid., pp. 318–19. But these activities did not do much for planters, particularly those in outlying provinces; and its connection with the government proved unfortunate. While nominally a “purely private institution,” the Spanish Bank of Havana subsequently “involved itself in the utmost difficulties by advancing large sums to the Madrid Government,” for which services it was “allowed to issue paper to an enormous … and unknown amount.” Gallenga, Antonio Carlo Napoleone, The Pearl of the Antilles (London, 1873), p. 44.Google Scholar Although manifestly inadequate, the Crédito Territorial Cubano (Cuban Territorial Credit Bank), begun in 1857, provided some assistance to the agricultural sector of the economy. As of December 31, 1863, the bank had made advances to planters totalling $1,138,332. Though it did not fail when the speculative bubble of 1857 finally burst, the resultant economic recession severely curtailed the Crédito's operations. Pezuela, Diccionario, vol. III, p. 334.

67 Tudor, Henry, Narrative of a Tour in North America (2 vols., London, 1834), vol. II, p. 111.Google Scholar

68 Ballou, Maturin M., History of Cuba: or Notes of a Traveller in the Tropics (New York, 1854), p. 95.Google Scholar “The great means for the employment of commercial capital of the island, are the promissory notes of the shopkeepers to the importers, and the bills of exchange drawn against produce by the exporter.” Hunt's Merchant's Magazine and Commercial Review, vol. VII (October, 1842), p. 330.

69 Ballou, History of Cuba, p. 95.

70 Tudor, Narrative, vol. II, p. 111.

71 These were classified as “brown” or “white” according to their color, after a purifying process that involved the application of wet clay to conical moulds of “raw” sugar. Two to four weeks were normally required to “purge” and harden sugars by this method.

72 There were some variations in the average net weight of sugar per hogshead, depending upon the port of embarkation. One reliable authority listed them as follows: Cárdenas and Trinidad, 1,350 lbs.; Remedios, 1,450 lbs.; Cienfuegos, 1,500 lbs.; all others, 1,400 lbs. Rebello, Carlos, Estados relativos a la producción azucarera de la isla de Cuba, formados competentemente y con autorización de la intendencia de ejército y hacienda (Havana, 1860), p. 85.Google Scholar

73 Augustus L. Richardson to Taylor, January 20, 1847. Augustus L. Richardson File, Moses Taylor Collection.

74 Pezuela, Diccionario, vol. II, pp. 315–18. The House of Drake held a rather low opinion of the San José syndicate. Long before Parejo's project reached completion, one of their senior partners warned Henry Coit about “Dn. Antonio Parejo & Dn. Manuel Pastor (all great scamps), who are filling the Regla Shoal to build stores.” Morales to Coit, June 8, 1850. This was an understandable attitude, because the Drakes would lose fat storage commissions to their cut-rate competitors. “All these people are a bad set of men, …” he later declared to Coit. “They have no moral principles, and [are] capable of exposing the government, if they can make money by it.” Morales to Coit, July 1, 1852.

75 Pezuela, Diccionario, vol. II, p. 316. The new warehouses were described as being “so large that a great part of the sugar crop of the island … could be stored in them.” Dana, Richard Henry, To Cuba and Back (London, 1859), p. 193.Google Scholar During the 1860's, those at Regla were said to be “capable of holding 3,000,000 boxes of sugar.” New York Times, November 29, 1866.

76 Pezuela, Diccionario, vol. I, pp. 55–56; Guerra Sánchez, Manual, p. 90.

77 Calcagno, Diccionario, p. 623.

78 Torrente, Mariano, Bosquejo económico político de la isla de Cuba (2 vols., Madrid, 1853), vol. II, p. 174.Google Scholar

79 Erénchun, Anales, vol. I, p. 822.

80 Ibid., pp. 836–37. Criticizing planter conspiracies against their creditors, a foreigner who had resided on the island for some time singled out the “Santa Gertrudis” Estate's titled owners as typical examples. He explained their tactics as follows: “The creditors are assembled; yearly installments are agreed upon; the extravagant living of the noble family is considered a necessary expenditure, and the majority, usually made up of family or fictitious creditors, force the rebellious claimants to lay down their arms, and enter into private compromises …” Kimball, Richard Burleigh, Cuba and the Cubans (New York, 1850), pp. 140–41.Google Scholar

81 Wurdermann, Notes on Cuba, p. 58. Among the best contemporary analyses of the general problem of planter indebtedness are Antonio Vicente Vázquez Quiepo's “Privilegio de Ingenios” and “Sistema Hipotecario” in his classic Informe fiscal sobre formento de la población blanca en la isla de Cuba (Madrid, 1845), pp. 69–77. As the Spanish equivalent of Attorney General in Cuba, Vázquez Quiepo had an unparalleled opportunity to study the privilegio de ingenios and its abuses.

82 Torrente, Bosquejo, vol. II, pp. 354–55.

83 Philalethes, Demoticus (psued.), Yankee Traveh through the Island of Cuba (New York, 1856), pp. 147–48.Google Scholar Persisting into the 20th century, this unfortunate legacy from Spain has impeded effective agrarian reforms throughout much of Latin America.

84 Garcia de Arboleya, Manual, 1852 ed., p. 133.

85 Morales to Coit, September 20–21 and November 30, 1853.

86 The advanced types of vacuum-cooking apparatus which they installed were so efficient that, besides doubling their own yield from the same amount of cane, they were able to buy the inferior sugars made by neighboring planters and process them to the point where one could not distinguish them from the best grades produced by refineries in the northeastern United States. McCulloh, Richard Sears, Report of Scientific Investigations Relative to the Chemical Nature of Saccharine Substances and the Art of Manufacturing Sugar, 29 Cong., 2 Sess., Sen. Doc. 209 (Washington, 1847), p. 84.Google Scholar Fernando Diago to Coit, November 13, 1848, Fernando Diago Fue, Moses Taylor Collection and Joaquín de Ayesterán to Coit, March 25, 1845. Pedro Diago experimented with various filtering agents, including imported animal (or “bone”) charcoal, to purify sugar at his “Santa Elena” plantation. Pedro Diago to Coit, May 15, 1846. Pedro Diago File, Moses Taylor Collection. The family also pioneered in the use of centrifugal machines (first employed in the French beet sugar industry) during the early 1850's. Joaquín de Ayesterán to Coit, October 13, 1850 through May 8, 1851. Francisco Diago became the first Cuban planter to use Chinese contract laborers (“coolies”), in 1847. Rosaio, Necrópolis, p. 405. As his brother, Pedro, pointed out to Coit two years afterward, coolies provided “very cheap labor by which to make up the shortage of slaves on our ingenios,” conveniently combined with “your extremely cheap rice to feed them.” Pedro Diago to Coit, January 13, 1849.

87 Morales to Coit, September 20–21, 1853.

88 Ibid., November 30, 1853.

89 Excellent colored plates of three Diago family ingenios — Fernando's “Ponina,” Fran cisco's “Tinguaro,” and their nephew Ayesterán's “Amistad” — as well as detailed diagrams and descriptions of their sugar-manufacturing facilities, may be found in Justo Germán Can teros Los Ingenios: Colección de vistas de los principales Ingenios de azúcar de la isla de Cuba (Havana, 1857).

90 By royal cédula of April 2, 1852, Isabel II decreed that: (1) ingenios established after that date would be subject to the “common law” and liable to seizure for debt; (2) existing ingenios would lose their ancient privilegio after January 1, 1865 and also be governed by the “common law.” Articles 1 & 2. Text of cédula (decree), Torrente, Bosquejo, vol. II, pp. 356–60.

91 Stock A/C, 1845 & 1860, M. T., Private Ledgers, 1842–1845 and 1855–1865. Terry, Tomás, Journals, 1843–1846, p. 434 and 1858–1861Google Scholar, p. 597. Tomás Terry Collection, Old Terry Offices (comer of Bouyón and Dorticós Streets, Cienfuegos). For convenience, Terry's books of account are referred to by their English names: Journal rather than Diario, and Ledger for Libro Mayor. Inquiries about this collection should be addressed to Ledo. Pedro Fuxá Seuret (Apartado 187, Cienfuegos), who represents the widely scattered descendente of Tomás Terry.

92 Because Terry's Ledger and Journal for 1846–1848 were lost, the totals shown above do not include profits made during those three years. They were compiled from the following accounts: Comisiones (Commission), Frutos (Sales of Produce), Tonelería (Cooperage), Almacenaje (Storage and Warehouse Charges), and Aventuras (For Account & Risk Tomás Terry). T. T. and T. T. & Co., Ledgers 1849–1851 through 1859–1861.

93 Morales to Coit, August 5, 1852.

94 Intereses (Interest) A/C, T. T. and T. T. & Co., Ledgers, 1849–1851 through 1859–1861.

95 Comisiones, Frutos, Tonelería, Almacenaje, Aventuras, and Intereses Accounts, T. T. and T. T. & Co., Ledgers, 1859–1861 through 1873–1877.

96 Tomás Terry to Taylor, September 29, 1838. Tomás Terry File, Moses Taylor Collection.

97 M. T. & Co., Account Sales “I,” pp. 143–338.

98 Rebelio, Estados, p. 7; T. T., Journal, 1858–1861, April 8 and August 19, 1859; A/C “Caridad” and A/C “Esperanza,” T. T., Ledger, 1859–1861, pp. 278, 284.

99 Caine, Federico (ed.), Hacendados e ingenios de la isla de Cuba: Extracto del Directorio Hispano-Americano (Havana, 1878), p. 690.Google Scholar

100 T. T. & Co., Ledger, 1885–1890, p, 307.

101 Bustamente, Luis Jorge, Diccionario Biográfico Cienfuegero (Cienfuegos, 1931), p. 235.Google Scholar Actually, Terry was worth $1,950,000 on December 31, 1856. T. T., Ledger, 1856–1858, p. 230. Two million dollars certainly made him one of the richest men in Cuba, but there were doubtless other capitalists in Havana with greater resources at that time. When the House of Drake was dissolved in 1858, it was said that José María Morales had made around $3,000,000 since the 1830's as one of its principal partners. Philo S. Shelton to Taylor, December 28, 1860. Shelton File, Moses Taylor Collection.

102 Empresas en el Extranjero (Foreign Investments) A/C, T. T., Ledger, 1851–1853, p. 454; T. T., Journal, 1849–1851, p. 561. Report of the Committee Appointed by the Legislature of Pennsylvania to Examine into the Affairs of the Forest Improvement Company and Unanimously Adopted by the House of Representatives (Harrisburg, Pa., 1854), pp. 4, 6.

103 T. T. & Co., Ledger, 1873–1877, p. 184.

104 Empresas en el Extranjero A/C, T. T. & Co., Ledger, 1881–1884, p. 181. Most of his U. S. investments were now in a very wide selection of gilt-edged railroad securities. As with the Forest Improvement Company stock years before, they had been purchased through Taylor and held in New York for Terry's account.

105 “A Sugar Chart Compiled by E. Atkins & Co.,” reproduced in Allen, Benjamin, A Survey of the Growth of E. Atkins & Co. and the Sugar Industry in Cuba (New York, 1926).Google Scholar

106 “Our commission business … was destroyed,” a prominent Boston specialist in the Cuba trade later recalled: “for commissions had fallen from five percent, duty-paid price, to one per cent on cost and freight, then to a fraction of one percent.” Edwin Atkins, F., Sixty Years in Cuba (Cambridge, Mass., 1926), p. 66.Google Scholar