HISTORY | The cash crop boom of the 19th century that gave birth to Cebu's towns

Sta. Catalina Church in Carcar, a 19th century boomtown

The trade with foreign markets done in the open port of Cebu transformed not just Cebu City but the entire Cebu island. The influential and wealthy Mestizos farmed out lands throughout the province, many of which, before the cash crop boom of 19th century remained idle for centuries.

Production of cash crops required vast lands for plantations. As a result, there was in the 19th century, a scramble for land. The rich Mestizos had sugar, tobacco, corn plantations throughout the entire island.

At the beginning of the 19th Century, there were only 12 parishes and towns in the entire island of Cebu. By the end of the 19th Century, there were already 50. The rise of towns is proof of the extent of the Mestizos' economic activity and how it benefited the entire island. Towns and parishes required considerable resources to establish and sustain.