Tobacco production

In the first French settlements of Southern Haiti, tobacco was the chief cash crop. Habitans, often associated in groups of two or three, raised tobacco, provisions, livestock and arnatto. Tobacco was an ideal pioneer crop as it thrived on newly cleared land rich in potash from the ashes of burned trees. Production and processing required little capital investment, and it was suitable for small holdings. The leaf could be stored readily, and its high value in proportion to its bulk mitigated transportation difficulties. After a field declined in fertility or became very weedy, a fresh plot could be cleared. Just before the revolution, Moreau de Saint-Méry reported that very good tobacco grew in the ravines of Bainet.