Tall and broken sugar cane stalks in a thicket by the Seven Sisters Waterfall Trail, Grand Etang Forest, Grenada, West Indies
Early French settlers established plantations of indigo, cotton and tobacco. By the start of the 18th century indigo was the main crop, there being 52 indigo plantations in Grenada in 1700. In 1702 sugar cane was introduced from South America. Cane cultivation gradually took over from indigo. Sugar cane cultivation necessitated a cheap labour force, leading to the development of the Slave Trade. Until Britain's abolition of slavery in 1834, sugar cane was by far the most important crop cultivated in the low-lying parts of Grenada. Nutmeg, introduced from the East Indies in 1843, became the main spice crop as Grenada's sugar cane cultivation declined, owing to competition from Spanish-speaking countries still operating a slave system. The trail to the Seven Sisters Waterfall starts in an area of nutmeg, coconut palms, plantain and vegetables cultivation. My guide is pointing to a stalk internode, where the sucrose accumulates
Size: 2848px × 4287px
Location: Trail to Seven Sisters Waterfall, Grand Etang Forest Reserve, Grenada, West Indies
Photo credit: © robert harrison / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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