There was a decline in the sugar industry especially after the effect of the 1846 Sugar Duties

Equalization Act. Thousands of state workers were unemployed and others grappled to survive
after many sugar planters abandoned sugar and the West Indies. Yearly sugar production fell by
36% between 1839 and 1846. There was a rise in the price of sugar and 50% of the Jamaican
plantations shut down. The production of rum and cotton in the British West Indies declined 25%
and 88% between the years 1815 and 1833. According to Eric Williams “In 1806 the price of
sugar was less than the cost of production, and in 1807 the planter made no profit at all.”
In the year 1807, the economic and political powers were unready to allow the free rein to the
enslaves in the Caribbean. The abolishionist were eager to wait for the progressive adjustments
to take place after the abolition of the slave trade in hopes that the entire institution of slavery
would desiccate. Years went by and people realized that the conditions of the slave plantations
were not improving and a campaign had to be formed in the British Parliament. The had to act
fast against a background of new economic and political events and the humanitarians were set
out to work again.
The change during the first half of the nineteenth century encouraged William Wilberforce and
his colleagues. The sources of money, labour system, lifestyle and the price of goods were all
transformed by the Industrial Revolution. There was a leap forward in the manufacture and
commerce of products. In North America the cotton was woven into cloth in the British mills.
Steam powered machines produced cheaper clothes, iron, chinaware and all manners of
household effects. Factories required workers so the British men and women left the countryside
and went into towns. The methods of farming had to improve and become more scientific in the
development of the land to produce a higher yield of wheat, vegetables and livestock. Better
systems of buying and selling all products from the farm and factory had to be introduced
therefore there was the opening of banks, trading houses and stock exchanges to boost
commerce.
NAME: Danielle Makoonsingh
CLASS: 5 West
TEACHER: Mrs. Chung
S.B.A. Question: To what extent were the economic factors responsible for the emancipation of
the enslaves in the West Indies in 1834?
 INTRODUCTION

Slavery was a system that entailed forced labour by people who were held against their will.
Slavery was degrading and demeaning and the enslaves lived in an inhumane environment.
Slavery on the plantation was important as it was economically beneficial to Britain in the
1700’s. The consistent production of cotton, rum, molasses and sugar ensured the prosperity in
the British factories. The income from the colonies additionally influenced the development of
Britain’s shipping industry which led to the development of powerful bands and insurance
companies. The decline in plantation slavery, the sugar industry and industrialization were the
economic factors which were responsible for the emancipation of the enslaves in the British
West Indies.
 The Body
The decline was due to planters who owed money to their creditors, which subsequently caused
the collapse of the financial institutions. Poor administration of the enslaves caused loss of profit.
The land holding elite could not bring together the needs of labour and capital due to the
shortage of labour in some territories to assist in production. The lack of credit and money to buy
machines and to pay wages also proved difficult to import labour as the cost of production
continued to rise. Eric Williams said “In 1806 the price of sugar was less than the cost of
production, and in 1807 the planter made no profit.”
The British colonized Caribbean sugar producers faced competition from cheaper producers. The
French was a major competitor who produced more sugar at a cheaper rate especially after the
Haitian Revolution. The British colonized Caribbean faced completion from sugar producers in
Brazil, Cuba, Florida, Louisiana and European colonies