The Earth and Its Peoples - Chapter 19
CHAPTER 19 The Atlantic System and Africa, 1550?1800 I?? seq NLA \r 0 \h . Plantations in the West Indies A?? seq NL1 \r 0 \h . Colonization Before 1650 1?? seq NL_a \r 0 \h . Spanish settlers introduced sugar-cane cultivation into the West Indies shortly after 1500 but did not do much else toward the further development of the islands. After 1600 the French and English developed colonies based on tobacco cultivation. 2?? seq NL_a \r 0 \h . Tobacco consumption became popular in England in the early 1600s. Tobacco production in the West Indies was stimulated by two new developments: the formation of chartered companies and the availability of cheap labor in the form of European indentured servants.