The Major Reason For the Emancipation of the Slaves In the Spanish Territories.

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CARIBBEAN HISTORY

THE MAJOR REASON FOR THE EMANCIPATION OF THE SLAVES IN THE SPANISH TERRITORIES.

The Spanish were the last to join in the slave trade. The sudden demand for slaves in the Spanish territories resulted from their agricultural revolution. The revolution took place because of a shift in international market demands, the English occupation of Havana, Cuba in 1765-64, the economic reforms of Charles the 3rd (1759-88), the sudden destruction of the French colony of St.Domingue, and the disruptive wars of Latin America's independence movement. In Cuba and Puerto Rico, slavery lasted for more than 40 years after its abolition in the rest of the Caribbean. I believe that the major reason for the Spanish late arrival in the slave trade was due to the above reasons and that emancipation of slaves in the Spanish territories was economic.

One of the major arguments put forward by planters in Cuba was that when the slave trade and slavery was abolished in the British colonies in 1834, sugar production fell. Spanish planters did not intend to allow this to happen to them, especially since Cuba was leading the Caribbean in sugar.

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