one plot was growing cane, and the final plot was being harvested. During the December–May rainy season, slaves planted, fertilized with animal dung, and weeded. From January to June, they harvested the cane by chopping the plants off close to the ground, stripping the leaves and then cutting them into shorter strips to be bundled off to be sent to the sugar cane mill. In the mill, the cane was crushed using a three-roller mill. The juice from the crushing of the cane was then boiled or clarified until it crystallized into sugar. Some plantations also went a step further and distilled the molasses, the liquid left after the sugar is boiled or clarified, to make rum. The sugar was then shipped back to Europe. For the slave laborer, the routine started all over again. With the 19th-century abolition of slavery, plantations continued to grow sugar cane, but sugar beets, which can be grown in temperate climates, increased their share of the sugar market. Indigo plantations Indigofera was a major crop cultivated during the 18th century, in Venezuela, Guatemala—and Haiti until the slave rebellion against France that left them embargoed by Europe and India in the 19th and 20th centuries. The indigo crop was grown for making blue indigo dye in the pre-industrial age. Mahatma Gandhi's investigation of indigo workers' claims of exploitation led to the passage of the Champaran Agrarian Bill in 1917 by the British colonial government. Southeast Asia In Southeast Asia British and Dutch colonies established plantations to produce agricultural commodity products including tea, pepper and other spices, palm oil, coffee, and rubber. Large scale agricultural production continues in many areas. Currencies The currency for the Georgia colony was the pound sterling, a gold coin or very light green bill with the national pound symbol. The currency is worth about one and one half U.S. dollar. The currency for the New York was at the time of the colony the New York pound. This currency was primarily used and made in the 1700s. See also Banana republic History of commercial tobacco in the United States History of sugar King Cotton Latifundium Sugar plantations in the Caribbean Tropical agriculture References Agricultural economics Economic systems History of Virginia Slavery in North America Plantations Economy