Central Cortada, also known as the Cortada Sugarcane Refinery, was a

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

plantation and

refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...

located in

Descalabrado Descalabrado is a barrio in the municipality of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico. Its population in 2010 was 4,138. History Central Cortada, also known as the Cortada Sugarcane Refinery, was a sugarcane plantation and refinery located in Descalabrado. ...

, Santa Isabel,

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. The area where the refinery is located has been used for the growth and processing of sugarcane since the 18th century.

History

The area where Central Cortada is located was originally called ''Estancia

,'' owned by Catalan settlers named Juan de Quintana (from 1737 to 1789) and later Juan Cortada Manzo (from 1800 to 1865), who build the ''

trapiche A trapiche is a mill made of wooden rollers used to extract juice from fruit, originally olives, and since the Middle Ages, sugar cane as well. By extension the word is also sometimes applied to the location of the mill, whether the workshop or t ...

''. The Cortada family kept operating the farm as part of their crop financing business, the Ponce-based ''Cortada & Cia''. This company kept growing and acquiring new ''haciendas'' in the area, such as Hacienda Palmarito in 1868. The cholera epidemic of 1855-1856, which killed many ''estancia'' slaves, and the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

in 1873 drastically transformed Puerto Rico's economy and impacted the sugarcane industry at the time. This period lasted through the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

until the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The ''Santa Isabel Sugar Company'' was founded in 1918 to build the infrastructure necessary to modernize and develop the sugarcane industry in the former ''estancia''. This company was founded in 1918 and was owned by the Cortada family and shareholders J. C. Mc Cormick Hartman, Hugh Guillén, Isidro Abarca, Antonio Álvarez, Francisco Verges, George T. Parker, Leopoldo Cabassa, Antonio Alcaide, and Rafael Fabián. The director was Juan Cortada Tirado. Most of the sugarcane workers at this time were poor peasants who would come from the mountainous areas in search of work and alternative employment. These workers would often be called ''colonos'' (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for "colonists") as the former slave-operated ''estancias'' and the communities that grew around them were now referred to as ''colonias'' or "colonies". In the 1930s, the refinery was sold to the ''Central Aguirre Sugar Company'', which operated the Central Aguirre refinery in

Guayama Guayama (, ), officially the Autonomous Municipality of Guayama (), is a Guayama barrio-pueblo, city and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality on the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

. The refinery ceased operations in 1940 and due to grinding restrictions it remained closed throughout the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It opened again in 1944, and continued to operate until the 1970s. In 1970 it produced 16,968 tons of sugar, and it remained operational until 1974.

Gallery

File:Central Cortada.jpg, View of Central Cortada from PR-1. File:Central Cortada2.jpg, Old wooden house in Cortada. File:Central Cortada1.jpg, View of the ruins with the modern

wind turbines A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. , hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, were generating over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each y ...

in the background. File:Central Cortada3.jpg, Old plow machine in Central Cortada. File:Cortada 3 (2024).jpg, Refinery chimney from PR-1 in 2024

References

{{Reflist Industrial buildings and structures in Puerto Rico Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico Sugar refineries Sugar industry of Puerto Rico Sugar plantations in Puerto Rico 1873 establishments in Puerto Rico 1974 disestablishments in North America

History

Gallery

See also

References