Overview

Though Cuba was among the first countries in the world to utilize rail transport, the history of its railroads has been little studied. This English translation of the prize-winning Caminos para el azucar traces the story of railroads in Cuba from their introduction in the nineteenth century through the 1959 Revolution. More broadly, the book uses the development of the Cuban rail transport system to provide a fascinating perspective on Cuban history, particularly the story of its predominant agro-industry, sugar. While railroads facilitated the sugar industry's rapid growth after 1837, the authors argue, sugar interests determined where railroads would be built and who would benefit from them. Zanetti and Garcia explore the implications of this symbiotic relationship for the technological development of the railroads, the economic evolution of Cuba, and the lives of the railroad workers. As this work shows, the economic benefits that accompanied the rise of railroads in Europe and the United States were not repeated in Cuba. Sugar and Railroads provides a poignant demonstration of the fact that technological progress alone is far from sufficient for development. |Traces the history of railroads in Cuba through the 1959 revolution, showing how the sugar industry controlled the location of railroads and determined who would benefit from them.

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9780807846926

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&amp;Yacute;This book will provide the English reading public with a taste of Cuban historical writing at its best.<p> Latin American Research Review

YThis book will provide the English reading public with a taste of Cuban historical writing at its best. Latin American Research Review A very important study, opening our eyes to the complexity of Cuban economic history. Latin American Studies [This book] will provide the English reading public with a taste of Cuban historical writing at its best. Latin American Research Review Breathes new life into a topic that has been relatively difficult to study outside of Cuba. Colonial Latin American Historical Review A very important study, opening our eyes to the complexity of Cuban economic history. Latin American Studies An example of work to which the North American scholarly community has had too little access. The Historian A brilliantly researched and well-argued book. Journal of American History

Author Information

Oscar Zanetti is a professor of history at the University of Havana.|Alejandro Garcia is a professor of history at the University of Havana.

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