Trinidadians Sorting Cocoa Pods, 1900 | State Historical Society of Iowa

The image shows a group of people in Trinidad that are on the ground with a large pile of cocoa pods. They are splitting the pods to extract seeds for drying to be eventually turned into cocoa powder. The image shows the hard work that went into getting cocoa beans from pods for trade to other countries.

Courtesy of Library of Congress, "Trinidad -- sorting cocoa beans plantation," Bain News Service, 1900

Description

The photograph shows a group of people in Trinidad that are on the ground with a large pile of cocoa pods. They are splitting the pods to extract seeds for drying, which will eventually be turned into cocoa powder. The image shows the hard work that went into getting cocoa beans from pods for trade to other countries.

Source-Dependent Questions

Describe the image. What are these people doing?
What does the handwriting at the top of the photo say? Describe the connotations of the word plantation with regard to this photo.
Using examples from the photo, describe the challenges of this type of work.
Consider this image and explain why countries trade with each other.
Compare this source to the Tax Rates on Common Imports document. How might the United States instituting a tax on importation of cocoa impact this industry?

Citation Information

"Trinidad -- sorting cocoa beans plantation," Bain News Service, 1900. Courtesy of Library of Congress