U.S. entrepreneurs called it “sisal” (because it was shipped from the port of Sisal in the state of Yucatán). The Mayas referred to it as ki or jeniquén, and the Spaniards settled on henequén.
No matter its name, people in this part of the world were weaving the fibers of the Agave fourcroydes, native to the Yucatán Peninsula, into ropes, mats and textiles perhaps as far back as 4,600 years ago.
By the 19th century, as global shipping expanded and agriculture demanded durable binder twine, henequen emerged as Mexico’s “green gold.”
On top of their other qualities, these fibers would last ten times longer than hemp in seawater. If you were a Malay pirate, you had to have rigging made of henequen!
Yucatán quickly became the world’s leading supplier, exporting millions of tons of fiber to the United States and Europe. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Mérida had the distinction of hosting more millionaires per capita than anyplace on the face of the earth.
Train ride to slavery
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