Sugarcane Mills in Puerto Rico
Central Azucarera en Arroyo, Puerto Rico - Photos: George Collazo ©
Centrales Azucareras de Puerto Rico!
Sugar cane was a booming industry in Puerto Rico for many decades. It entered Europe with the conquests of the Muslims who planted it from Sicily to Spain. In the 11th century, the golden age of sugar was born thanks to the invention of the trapetum, better known as the trapiche (a press that extracted the sugar from the sugar cane). The trapetum was invented by Pietro Speciale. The first sugar cane roots to be planted in the New World were brought by Christopher Columbus to the Dominican Republic in 1493. In 1501 the first sugar cane field was put into production and in 1506.
The first dedicated sugarcane plantation in Puerto Rico was established by Don Fernando “the Catholic” in the “Hato de los Reyes“, known today as Hato Rey.
The first molasses was extracted using an Indian “cunyaya”. In 1515 the first sugar mill was built for the first sugar masters arriving from the Canary Islands.
Writings do not document who imported or when the first sugar cane plants arrived in Puerto Rico, it is believed that it was by Don Juan Ponce de Leon shortly after the colonization of Puerto Rico began. The first sugar cane plants were planted in home gardens to be chewed.
After so many decades of work and having been the bread and butter of thousands of Puerto Ricans, the Central
El Coloso de Aguada (The Colossus Mill) was the last sugar cane mill to close its doors on the island of Puerto Rico.
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