Bridging the Gap
By Henry Funtecha

The sugar boom in Western Visayas

It is an established fact that the rapid economic development of Western Visayas , especially of Negros Occidental, was associated with the boom in the sugar industry.

Several conditions combined to create a favorable economic milieu for the cultivation of sugar cane in the region.

Among these were: 1) the coming of the Augustinian Recollects to Negros , 2) the richness of the soil in the region, 3) the good prices of sugar in the domestic and market world, 4) the availability of cheap labor 5) the opening of the Port of Iloilo to the world trade, and 6) the peace and order situation.

The coming of the Augustinian Recollects to Negros in 1850 provided the initial impetus for the large-scale sugar production in the island.

Fr. Fernando Cuesta, an Augustinian Recollect himself hailed the coming of the order to Negros as marking a new period in its history (Cuesta, 1980). The missionaries established agriculture plantations devoted to the cultivation of sugar cane and other crops.

Soil and weather conditions have also been mentioned as a cause of the boom.

A number of writers, among them Robustano Echauz (1978), Ramon Gonzales Fernando (1872), Nicholas Loney (1857), and Feodor Jagor (1857) cited the “very fertile land” of Negros and its soil as “very ideal for cultivation”, especially sugarcane.

Jagor even claimed that sugar cane grew to as high as thirteen feet.

They also mentioned that the island was undisturbed by the typhoons that frequently visited other islands in the archipelago.

Another important cause of development was the high prices for sugar in the domestic and the world market.

According to Cuesta (1980), in the 1850's, sugar prices really zoomed.

The price per picul which used to cost from P2.00 to P2.12 in Manila significantly rose to P5.60 in the capital city of Manila and between P4.06 and P$.21 in Iloilo .

This, in fact, was considered as the principal stimulus in the frenzied shift in the second half of the 19th century. The high prices continued for several years, sustaining economic growth in the Western Visayas region.

Still another factor that favored the sugar boom in Western Visayas , particularly in Negros Occidental, was the availability of cheap labor.

There was the rapid influx to Negros of migrants commonly coming from the provinces of Iloilo , Capiz and Antique who were either farmers or fishermen.

The said migrants were largely propelled by hopes of finding a better life in the frontiers of Negros . Some of them were able to acquire lands by clearing forest lands for small-scale swidden agriculture.

Most of them, however, became sacadas or field workers in the haciendas owned by the more entrepreneurial group of migrants from Iloilo who had the necessary capital.

The opening of the port of Iloilo in 1855 was also a major factor which made viable the export of sugar right from the heart of the Western Visayas region.

The port of Iloilo, according to Jagor (1875), was excellent, being completely protected by Guimaras island.

All sugar produced in Negros Occidental and in the other provinces of Panay were transported to warehouses in the Port of Iloilo where the valuable cargo was shipped in sailing vessels to the United States, England, Australia, and Hongkong.

The picture may not be complete without mentioning the relatively stable peace and order situation in both Panay and Negros Occidental.

There was significantly a notable change that took place in the way the West Visayans reacted to the marauding Moro pirates.

In earlier times, the local inhabitants in a town would just flee in the face of a Moro attack, but by the middle 19th century they began to put up a determined opposition to the invasion.

They put up watchtowers to help them detect the approach of the Moros.

Moreover, the Spanish officials assigned to the area became more serious in stamping out the problem by organizing the Spaniards and the natives for effective defense.

In addition, there was the introduction of the steamship in the campaign against the Moros that, combined with other measures, eventually led to the cessation of the Moro raids.

This helped create an atmosphere of tranquility that was necessary for agricultural production, as well as commerce and trade.