Agrarian Puerto Rico by Csar J. Ayala, Laird W. Bergad - 9781108488464

Agrarian Puerto RicoReconsidering Rural Economy and Society, 18991940\nAuthor(s): Csar J. Ayala, Laird W. Bergad\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Cambridge University Press\nISBN-13: 9781108488464, 978-1108488464\nSynopsis\nFundamental tenets of colonial historiography are challenged by showing that US capital investment into this colony did not lead to the disappearance of the small farmer. Contrary to well-established narratives, quantitative data show that the increasing integration of rural producers within the US market led to differential outcomes, depending on pre-existing land tenure structures, capital requirements to initiate production, and demographics. These new data suggest that the colonial economy was not polarized into landless Puerto Rican rural workers on one side and corporate US capitalists on the other. The persistence of Puerto Rican small farmers in some regions and the expansion of local property ownership and.