what did st. Augustin exported
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Think of British East Florida Gov. James Grant as the first agricultural agent for the state. At his plantation on what is now part of Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve, Grant raised indigo, which became the major export crop in the 1760s and 1770s.
“He did a demonstration for anyone who wanted,” said Patricia Griffin, a historical anthropologist who lives in St. Johns County. “His ‘experimental farm’ is what he called it.”
No one was better suited. Grant’s Villa, as it was called, was considered the most profitable indigo plantation in East Florida, according to various sources. He also cultivated rice at another of his plantations in the area.
Indigo starts out as a plant that must go through a three-step process to become what Griffin calls “blue gold.” In its final processing stage, the indigo comes out in the shape of a bar.
“When you cracked the bar, there was a gold glint that came up temporarily,” she said.
Indigo had a high value as a trading commodity and had been prized for thousands of years before Florida got into the business.
Until scientists came up with a chemical version in the late 1800s, the only source of indigo was plants. The dye was extracted from the plants to produce the unique blue color.
The process was both labor-intensive and time-consuming. Warm climates such as Florida’s were needed to grow the plants and the state’s growing season meant three crops a year could be produced.
“You can use almost all the parts of the plant,” Griffin said.
At one point, Grant had more than 1,000 acres in cultivation for indigo. He needed it -- it takes about 100 pounds of indigo plant to produce 4 ounces of processed indigo. Once processed, the indigo was sent in barrels either by ship to Charleston and on to England or sometimes directly from St. Augustine to England.
The payoff was substantial. According to state records, a block the size of a wooden match box sold for more than $40 in the 1700s.
A number of plantations were built during the British period south of St. Augustine. Indigo was the major crop during the British period. Indigo proved to be a hard crop on the land, and new land was constantly being cleared to provide additional acreage.
“The British paid a bounty for growing indigo,” Griffin said. But that bounty ended when Florida was returned to the Spanish in 1783, and the growing of indigo faded out; Grant’s plantation continued after the English period for a short while.
Some indigo grows wild in Florida still.
“You can make dye out of it, but it’s a very poor quality,” Griffin observed. She’s grown it herself, but she discovered that while the experts say it needs sun, hers grew best in semi-shade.
Some attractions in St. Johns County -- including the GTM Research Reserve and the St. Augustine Fountain of Youth -- grow patches and have information on the plant and its uses. Students from Nease High School built a working series of the vats used in processing indigo. Those vats are now at the Kingsley Plantation.