This book traces the social, political and evolutionary history of seven major plantation crops - banana, cotton, coffee, rubber, sugarcane, tea and tobacco.
"James Hancock's book covers seven crops: sugar, banana, cotton, tea, tobacco, coffee and rubber, briefly mentions oilpalm, and should have included cacao. The chapters are divided on the historical development of each crop including product development (very well done), and on the dark side of plantation agriculture that involved slavery and human exploitation. The book is an indictment of unfettered, unregulated capitalism, which, while responsible for economic development, has often led to social injustice and environmental damage, and fostered unhealthy products such as tobacco and opium. The system continued in the form of indentured workers, tenant farmers, and sweatshops. Attempts have been made to humanize the plantation system by encouraging small holders for crop production, cooperatives for crop processing, and unions and regulations to promote worker's rights. The struggle continues. In the United States the supreme court declared laws to declare child labor unconstitutional in 1918 and 1922; child labor laws were only passed in 1938 and agriculture was largely exempted. This book covers these issues splendidly and will be a valuable resource for crop historians, agricultural development, and environmental advocates." - Jules Janick, Purdue University, USA, in Chronica Horticulturae (2017).
"It is an ambitious effort and Hancock succeeds in providing a concise, engaging, and thoroughly entertaining survey of the subject. The style makes it suitable for general audiences while the inclusion of many fascinating and humorous historical anecdotes adds tactful levity to a work which quite naturally also includes many sobering accounts of slavery, indentured servitude, corvée, child labor, and countless other cruelties." - Simon Riley, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Uganda, in Economic Botany (2017).
"This book is a very welcome primer to plantation systems and their pernicious effects that will be of service to anyone with an interest in agrarian systems and their evolution." - James H. McDonald, University of Montevallo,USA, in Journal of International and Global Studies (2017).
"This book is a portrait of the information and intricacies of seven important plantation crops, beginning with their domestication, development, spread patterns, economic motivators and political pressures that have led to slavery, plunder, conflict and war. I recommend it as a textbook for students of agriculture and allied sciences, as well as more advanced researchers." - S. Suresh Ramanan, Agriculture and Human Values, Etna, New York
