During the early to mid nineteenth century slave economies were highly present in
             the Spanish Antilles. Slave labor was highly concentrated on sugar plantations. Since free
             labor was limited, plantation owners were highly dependent on slave labor, for increase
             production. The late nineteenth century abolishment of slavery highly disrupted the
             production of sugar on many of the Caribbean islands. In order to understand the
             transition period from slavery to free labor, it will be necessary to analyze certain aspects
             of slavery. First, the institution of slavery and its development within the sugar plantations
             will be addressed. Subsequently an analysis of the effects of slavery on the economic and
             social structures of the colonies will clarify the post-slavery condition of the islands. A
             close examination of the Spanish Antilles should provide some insight into the effects of
             the abolishment of slavery and its social and economic implications.
             The mid-nineteenth century, primarily 1860, marked a drastic change within the
             economic structure of the Antilles. Economic, social and political changes included the
             reorganization of the sugar industry, declining power of the Spanish Crown, emergence of
             the U.S., and the large increase in population (due to the abolishment of slavery). A an
             analysis of the development of the sugar industry in the Spanish Antilles, Cuba and Puerto
             Rico will help to clarify some of the direct effects of the institution of slavery.
             Manuel Moreno Fraginals provides a brief account of the plantations in the
             Caribbean. According to Fraginals, the colonial export system established in Cuba led to
             the promotion of the sugar industry as the primary economic structure of the island. The
             large sugar boom that followed resulted in an increase of external wealth and the
             underdevelopment of Cuba's internal markets and social classes. In order to promote
             increase profits from the...