In the Hunt for Mona Island Guano Miners: Archival Documentation in the General Archives of Puerto Rico

Summary

This paper presents initial archival research from the "Archivo General de Puerto Rico" (Puerto Rican General Archives) relating to C19th-20th guano extraction on Mona island in the Caribbean. This is part of a PhD project which examines the lives of guano miners through archaeology and historic archives. Guano as a manure was highly sought as a fertilizer during the nineteenth century for its high contents of nitrogen, phosphate and potassium, nutrients needed for plant growth. It revolutionized farming practices across the world and catalyzed the colonization of remote islands with the intent of mining them. Very little is known about the daily experiences, regimes, and identities of guano miners on Mona Island, part of the Puerto Rican archipelago. Guano extraction started in Mona Island around 1854 under the Spanish government and lasted until 1936 under the USA government. During this period multiple international companies operated on Mona Island, relying on the manual labor of hundreds of workers. An examination of the lives of guano miners on Mona island is important to understand the hidden histories of itinerant laborers across the Caribbean post-emancipation, but also to shed light on the human story of modern industrial capitalism more widely.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22615