Haitian American Sugar Company
Encyclopedia
Haitian American Sugar Company, S.A. (HASCO) was an American business venture which sought to produce and sell sugar
and other goods in Haiti
and the United States
. The company was registered with a capital of five million dollars
on 5 August 1912 in Wilmington, Delaware
, by Charles Steinheim, John A. Christie, and Franck Corpay.
invasion of the country in 1915 and the continued U.S. occupation until 1934.
which did not pay a government tax and made domestic sugar uncompetitive. At the time of the closing, Hasco was Haiti's second largest employer with 3,500 workers at the Port-au-Prince
refinery
and 30-40,000 contracted cane
farmers.
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
and other goods in Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The company was registered with a capital of five million dollars
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
on 5 August 1912 in Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, by Charles Steinheim, John A. Christie, and Franck Corpay.
Political unrest in Haiti
Hasco's operation was threatened by political turmoil in Haiti in the years leading up to 1915. The danger to HASCO and other American business interests in Haiti was allegedly one of the factors which led to the U.S. MarineUnited States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
invasion of the country in 1915 and the continued U.S. occupation until 1934.
Closure
In 1987, the company closed citing smuggling of sugar from the Dominican RepublicDominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
which did not pay a government tax and made domestic sugar uncompetitive. At the time of the closing, Hasco was Haiti's second largest employer with 3,500 workers at the Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
refinery
Sugar refinery
A sugar refinery is a factory which refines raw sugar.Many cane sugar mills produce raw sugar, i.e. sugar with more colour and therefore more impurities than the white sugar which is normally consumed in households and used as an ingredient in soft drinks, cookies and so forth...
and 30-40,000 contracted cane
Sugarcane
Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...
farmers.