SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL PERSPECTIVES ON FLORIDA'S SUGARCANE INDUSTRY

Authors

  • Sam Sheldon

Abstract

One of the hallmarks of Florida's long history of commercial sugar-cane production is spatial instability, Unlike Louisiana, where the cane growing area has remained essentially the same for almost two hundred years, sugar production in Florida has concentrated in diverse regions at different times. This article traces Florida's sugarcane industry from its beginnings in the eighteenth century to the present day. Emphasis is placed on the changes in location of the industry, and the environmental, economic, and political forces instrumental in effecting these changes. Four periods of development of the industry can be identified: (1) ca. 1767 to 1836: (2) ca. 1850 to 1864: (3) 1880 to 1896, and (4) ca. 1920 to the present (Fig. l, Cover).

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Published

1981-07-31