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The Bahamian-born Hawaiian Pineapple Industry

Pineapples are pretty popular in The Bahamas. Here, they're affectionately referred to as 'sugar loafs' due to their sweetness compared to other pineapples and their shape almost similar to a loaf of bread.

Most pineapples in The Bahamas are grown on the island of Eleuthera. Yearly, the island hosts a "Pineapple Festival" celebrating the pineapple harvest at the beginning of the summer in the settlement of Gregory Town.

Pineapples are also grown on other islands, however.

Other islands are Cat Island, Long Island and even San Salvador. San Salvador, for instance, has a settlement named 'Sugar Loaf' where pineapples are farmed and the area became renowned for pineapple farming.

The pineapple industry became very important in the late 19th century.

It's believed the fruit was introduced to The Bahamas circa 1720. The rich loam soils, which many locals simply call 'red soil' helped the fruit thrive.

The red soil found on some islands are nutrient-rich and are a result of Saharan dust blowing over the Atlantic & settling.

Export of pineapples from The Bahamas to the US began in 1842.

By 1844, The Bahamas became the 1st country to export the fruit on a large scale. The following year, 35,000 dozen pineapples were shipped to England. The same amount was also shipped to the United States.

During this time, the island of Eleuthera led the charge w/ pineapple farming followed by Cat Island & Long Island. The island became the pineapple capital of the world. Other islands like Abaco & Rum Cay also produced.

Later that century, the canning industry was established.

It was the first retail industry in The Bahamas in 1857.

J. S. Johnson Company began canning operations in The Bahamas in 1876. By 1892, the Bahamian owned company had agreements with American partners and was shipping almost 100K cans of pineapples to the United States.

Before this, the pineapple canning industry in the U. S. began in 1863 in Baltimore, Maryland.

By 1865, just two years later, the pineapples canned in Baltimore and being distributed throughout the U. S. were being imported from The Bahamas and to a lesser extent, even Cuba.

In 1893, the Kingdom of Hawaii was illegally invaded by the US. The invasion was planned by the white American planting class. This resulted in an American led overthrow of the reigning monarch.

In 1898, Hawaii was annexed by the mainland US. In 1899 James Dole moved to Hawaii.

Dole is credited with starting the pineapple industry in Hawaii in 1901. He established the Hawaiian Pineapple Company, which eventually became the Dole Food Company.

Dole took pineapples from The Bahamas (reportedly the island of San Salvador) and had them shipped to Hawaii.

Bahamian pineapples were known for their sweetness and superior taste in comparison to competitors like Florida where a pineapple industry had also been established. Floridan pineapples had become regarded as sub-par.

Hawaii proved to be an ideal growing location for pineapples.

Dole brought with him innovative technology which increased productivity, but the Hawaiian pineapple did not surpass the Bahamian pineapple in the American market despite Hawaii being an American territory at that time.

Americans still preferred the Bahamian pineapple.

Dole's Hawaiian industry had advantages over the Bahamian industry though. There were ideal growing conditions, the consolidation of cultivation & advertising that asserted the superiority of Hawaiian pineapple over competitors. Hawaii came to dominate the canned pineapple trade.

This coupled with taxes implemented by the American government that made importing Bahamian pineapples (or any foreign pineapples) more expensive, by 1923, Hawaii's pineapple industry grew to dominate the global pineapple industry after being established 2 decades prior in 1901.

By 1927, the pineapple industry in The Bahamas was essentially non-existent.

Though, the rise of the Hawaiian pineapple industry was not the sole cause of the Bahamian pineapple industry. There were a plethora of other issues that led to the pineapple industry's demise.

Notwithstanding any of that, pineapples still remained culturally significant in The Bahamas.

Locally made sodas like Goombay/Junkanoo punch are pineapple flavoured. Then there's @nickternational who likes the Bahamian pineapple tart. Pineapples are also featured on the nickel.

Lame nerd.

Somewhat related, here's a thread on other 'Bahamian firsts', if you're interested: https://twitter.com/BahamaPapa_/status/1254187385765625858?s=20