Beginning of Ch. 2

1.       Explain how sugar imposed burdens on people as well as nature.

Sugar was a cash crop that drove many men into the business of growing it. In order to grow sugar the landowners had to burn down a plot of land which often had previously had food or trees growing on it. Then year after year as the plant continues to grow and be harvested it depletes the soil of its richness making the land unable to grow anything. With the land not being used for crops or other plants, this presents the opportunity for rains to come and create soil erosion.  In effect more land must be cultivated to continue growing sugar which then is yet another area not producing food for the people. Many of the natives working on the plantation and living in the area would go hungry or starve because there is no food growing in their area and they cannot afford the food that is imported.

2.       What happened to the Caribbean islands? Why do you think Galeano began this section entitled “The Devastation of the Caribbean,” with a Karl Marx quotation? What significance does it have?   

Everything that I just explained in question 1 happened to the Caribbean islands. They began importing almost all of their food and materials and exported almost all of the raw materials like sugar, wool, ect. I loved the quote by Karl Marx, “You believe perhaps gentlemen that the production of coffee and sugar is the natural destiny of the West Indies. Two centuries ago, nature,   which does not trouble herself about commerce, had planted neither sugarcane nor coffee trees there.” This quote is revealing that the pain of others and of the land is not God’s fault, but the fault of man.

3.       Does the beginning of this chapter give you any sort of new perspective on capitalism? If it makes you feel disenchanted with the whole notion, what would you propose to implement in its place?

Capitalism when based on the idea of hurting and exploiting others makes me very upset. All of the landowners know that they would not be able to do what do our make their money without their workers but yet they treat them like dirt, actually worse than dirt. If I could implement any form of government it would be a mixture of democracy and socialism. I don’t think that the Indians and Africans should be treated as they were and still are and should have their own land to grow food so that they are not so dependent on imports.