The Trinidad Cocoa Industry and the Struggle for Crown Land during the Nineteenth Century

Abstract

In 1838, Trinidad was relatively undeveloped and its land resources underexploited. The Crown still retained control over one million acres of virgin land, while of the 208 379 acres already alienated only one-fifth were actually under cultivation (Wood, 1964, 49). The development of the Trinidad cocoa industry, particularly after the emancipation of slaves, depended largely on the availability of cultivable land, and the ability of cocoa growers to control that resource. Cocoa thrived best on virgin forest land where it was warm and steamy and where the soil was moderately rich. The pioneering period therefore involved the continuous search for virgin forest land for the advancement of cocoa cultivation. It was in this context that the Crown Land Alienation Policy became a matter of central focus.