>Some-one wrote recently that Nutmeg cultivation was introduced to >Grenada in 1843. The source below certainly supports that. > > >In 1843, nutmeg is introduced to Grenada from the Dutch East Indies >and soon takes over from sugar as the island's principal export. > >SOURCE: http://www.information.kuoni.co.uk/Common/CountryInfo/Info/GDGND2.html > > >But then other sources say this: >During the 18th century, Grenada's economy underwent an important >transition. Like much of the rest of the West Indies it was >originally settled to cultivate sugar which was grown on estates >using slave labor. But natural disasters paved the way for the >introduction of other crops. In 1782, Sir Joseph Banks, the >botanical adviser to King George III, introduced nutmeg to Grenada. >The island's soil was ideal for growing the spice and because >Grenada was a closer source of spices for Europe than the Dutch East >Indies the island assumed a new importance to European traders. > >The collapse of the sugar estates and the introduction of nutmeg and >cocoa encouraged the development of smaller land holdings, and the >island developed a land-owning yeoman farmer class. > >SOURCES:: > >http://www.traveldocs.com/gd/history.htm. > > >www.wikipedia.org/wiki/History+of+Grenada > >www.worldrover.com/history/grenada_history.html > >globaledge.msu.edu/ibrd/ CountryHistory.asp?CountryID=126&RegionID=4 > >Can we reconcile the two versions of History? Thanks. > >Richard > >In 1782, when Sir Joseph banks was reputed to have introduced the >nutmeg to Grenada, sugar was still "king", so it probably didn't >become 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 spelled 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 > > > > > > > > > > > >==== CARIBBEAN Mailing List ==== >For information on individual islands, research aids, island >bulletin boards or history please visit the CaribbeanGenWeb project >at >http://www.rootsweb.com/~caribgw/

Hi Jennifer, Thanks. I think your statement is quite correct. It must have been introduced by Sir Joseph Banks in 1782, but did not become one of the the dominant crops until after 1843. That means that people were growing it for almost 50 years before 1843. Richard ----- Original Message ----- From: "jennifer sanchez" <jenys@wow.net> To: <CARIBBEAN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, May 29, 2003 7:47 PM Subject: Re: Nutmeg History Grenada > >Some-one wrote recently that Nutmeg cultivation was introduced to > >Grenada in 1843. The source below certainly supports that. > > > > > >In 1843, nutmeg is introduced to Grenada from the Dutch East Indies > >and soon takes over from sugar as the island's principal export. > > > >SOURCE: http://www.information.kuoni.co.uk/Common/CountryInfo/Info/GDGND2.html > > > > > >But then other sources say this: > >During the 18th century, Grenada's economy underwent an important > >transition. Like much of the rest of the West Indies it was > >originally settled to cultivate sugar which was grown on estates > >using slave labor. But natural disasters paved the way for the > >introduction of other crops. In 1782, Sir Joseph Banks, the > >botanical adviser to King George III, introduced nutmeg to Grenada. > >The island's soil was ideal for growing the spice and because > >Grenada was a closer source of spices for Europe than the Dutch East > >Indies the island assumed a new importance to European traders. > > > >The collapse of the sugar estates and the introduction of nutmeg and > >cocoa encouraged the development of smaller land holdings, and the > >island developed a land-owning yeoman farmer class. > > > >SOURCES:: > > > >http://www.traveldocs.com/gd/history.htm. > > > > > >www.wikipedia.org/wiki/History+of+Grenada > > > >www.worldrover.com/history/grenada_history.html > > > >globaledge.msu.edu/ibrd/ CountryHistory.asp?CountryID=126&RegionID=4 > > > >Can we reconcile the two versions of History? Thanks. > > > >Richard > > > >In 1782, when Sir Joseph banks was reputed to have introduced the > >nutmeg to Grenada, sugar was still "king", so it probably didn't > >become 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 spelled 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 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >==== CARIBBEAN Mailing List ==== > >For information on individual islands, research aids, island > >bulletin boards or history please visit the CaribbeanGenWeb project > >at > >http://www.rootsweb.com/~caribgw/ > > > ==== CARIBBEAN Mailing List ==== > all messages posted to CARIBBEAN-L are archived at http://archiver.rootsweb.com/ > Before posting a query, see if the question has already been asked > >