To whom does the credit goes for the development of coconut and sugarcane agriculture in Philippines?

Question

UnlockIAS · Accepted Answer

Correct — A, the Spanish and the Americans. The Philippines was a Spanish colony from 1565 to 1898 and then an American colony until 1946. The Spanish first promoted commercial plantation crops, and under American rule tariff-free access to the huge U.S. market turned coconut (copra/coconut oil) and sugarcane into the islands' leading cash crops — so the development of these two crops is credited to the Spanish and the Americans, the two powers that actually ruled the Philippines.

Why the other options are wrong — (b) The Dutch (Hollanders) built their plantation economy in the East Indies — modern Indonesia (Java) — not in the Philippines, which they never ruled.  (c) The British developed plantation agriculture in their own colonies such as Malaya (rubber) and India; they briefly occupied Manila (1762-64) but did not shape Philippine agriculture.  (d) French plantation development was centred on Indo-China (Vietnam, rubber and rice), not the Philippines.

Concept: The commercial agriculture of the Philippines is a legacy of its two colonial rulers. Spain (1565-1898) introduced plantation cultivation of cash crops, and the United States (1898-1946) expanded it by giving Philippine coconut and sugar duty-free entry to the American market. Coconut (exported as copra and coconut oil) and sugarcane became the country's principal export crops.

State PCS 2023 Q68 — Geography PYQ with Answer

State PCS 2023 Q68 — Geography PYQ with Answer