Thomas Potts was born in 1740 in England. In his 20’s, he moved to Belize (then British Honduras) in hopes of becoming a successful logwood cutter1. He arrived on St. George’s Caye, Belize in time to sign Burnaby’s laws. This was a set of codes outlining the rules for owning logwood, and later mahogany, works2. Within a few years of faithfully cutting logwood for England, Potts and 11 other rich white men owned 4/5 of the loggable land in Belize3. He then became a magistrate for the local government of St. George’s Caye in 1790. During his service as a magistrate, the Battle of St. George’s Caye broke out between the British settlers and the ruling Spanish government4. Potts encouraged the settlers to abandon the Caye, but he instead was ousted from his position on panel. He continued his logwood operations and obtained much wealth until his death in 1806.
Logwood is a skinny tree of no more than a foot around and is armed with sharp thorns on its branches. The branches grow entwined in each other create a scraggly mess that is difficult to pass through. The bark is a light blue-gray color and the leaves are quite small and round. It is located along the banks of rivers, lakes, and lagoons and also in any wetlands. It requires squishy, damp soil and thrives in brackish waters. The swampy Northern Belize has ample amounts of logwood, but there also some available in south along rivers such as the Sibun. The heartwood of the tree is removed and used as an extract for clothing dyes.
Another operation similar logwood that settlers like Potts also endeavored is the extraction of Mahogany. Once the supply of logwood exceeded demand, the price dropped so much that there was no longer much profit. The settlers shifted to a more difficult but more profitable industry of Mahogany cutting. Mahogany is a tree prized for its beauty in furniture and is shipped in whole log form instead of in pieces. Mahogany grows deeper in the forest and requires more scouting to locate trees in the interior.
Logwood is cut from the tree. The small trunk size makes it easy to remove. The white sapwood is stripped from the deep red heartwood. The pieces of heartwood are then put on to trucks to haul to the river banks. On the river, the logs are put into cradles that are buoyant enough to float down the river and prevent the logwood from getting wet. When the river meets the ocean, the logwood is loaded onto large ships headed towards England.
Mahogany trees are cut down with more effort as the trunks are much larger. Because the trees are located deeper in the forest, transport is more difficult. The logs are carried by truck from the cutting site to the river. When conditions are too wet for the truck the logs are put onto skids that drag the logs through the over the mud. On the banks of the river the logs are squared off and sent floating down the river. At the mouth of the river, the mahogany is loaded onto a ship bound for England5.
Settlers like Thomas Potts came to Belize for one purpose: profit. They wanted to set up operations to remove what they saw as a precious commodity and then move on to the next plot of land. A quote from Miller’s An Environmental History of Latin America sums up the values of these English settlers:
However, one European response was universal. Above al else, humans want to know nature’s utility. The first question regarded what was edible…The second question was whether or not nature could be packaged, processed, traded, shipped, and turned a profit.6
These people were simply consumers of the land. They didn’t understand the cultures surrounding them or the history of the land they were on. All they thought about was their hopeful profit and whatever means it took to get it. They had a method of taking over land, stripping it of its precious commodities, and then moving on without care or concern about what it did to the environment or the people who still had to live on the land. These men really did have dollar signs over their eyes.
An example of prime logwood growing location. The New River Lagoon, Orange Walk, Belize.
A map used to map out the logwood Territory. Also displays the idea of land us for a profit.
The logwood processing: removing the heartwood from the Sapwood.
Thomas Potts
1www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1g1-146215368.html. 27 March 2008.
2Burdon, John Alder. Archives of British Honduras. Sifton Praed and CO, London. 1931. Pp 100-107
3Bolland, Nigel and Assad Shoman. Land in Belize 1765-1871. University of the West Indies, Jamaica. 1977. Pp 15, 19
4ambergriscaye.com/forum. 27 March 2008
5Morris, D.. The Colony of British Honduras. London, 1883. Pp 47-49
6Miller, Shawn William. An Environmental History of Latin America. Cambridge University Press. Pg. 67
1 comment:
I sure would like the photo to be “the” Thomas Potts of this article, but it is not. Potts died long before the image type in this photo was invented.
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