Spain at the Turn of the Century

Political instability marked the history of Spain before and after the Spanish-American war of 1898. During this time the Kingdom of Spain was a feudal system, the land owned only by royalty. The common people worked for small wages, when there was work to be found as work was seasonal at best.

Spain experienced flooding that destroyed most of the country’s crops, making it difficult to find work to support a family. There were religious restrictions and added to that, young men were being conscripted into the military; unrest, threats, challenges, small wages, the people dreamt for a better life.

The province of Andalusia was known for growing many citrus fruit such as oranges and mandarins, orchard crops like fruit and nuts, and field crops including tomatoes and sugar. The Moors brought sugar cane to Spain since the early 700’s. This made Spain the perfect place to recruit workers for the sugar plantations in Hawaii.