1740s (Era): A steady rise in sugar prices on the global market accelerated the expansion of plantation monoculture across the Caribbean islands.

1740s (Era): A steady rise in sugar prices on the global market accelerated the expansion of plantation monoculture across the Caribbean islands. This economic shift led to the displacement of dissidents, hide hunters, and logwood cutters who had previously found shelter in the frontier lands. Areas formerly used for small-scale grazing were hungrily “gobbled up” by the growing sugar estates. The intensification of the economy built on slavery further marginalized the masterless populations that had once defined the region’s character.