In 1782, when Sir Joseph Banks was reputed to have introduced the nutmeg to Grenada, sugar was still "king", so it probably didn't becoe a popular crop until after the abolition of slavery in 1838. I think beet sugar became cheaper to produce in Europe quite a bit earlier than emancipation and abolition, coupled with this new European crop speller disaster for West Indian sugar economies so it is not surprising that nutmeg and other spices became popular crops in the 19th Century. Jenny Sanchez