Haitian American Sugar Company, S.A. (HASCO) was an American business venture which sought to produce and sell

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

and other goods in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The company was registered with a capital of five million

dollars Dollar is the name of more than 20 currencies. They include the Australian dollar, Brunei dollar, Canadian dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Jamaican dollar, Liberian dollar, Namibian dollar, New Taiwan dollar, New Zealand dollar, Singapore dollar, Un ...

on 5 August 1912 in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, by Charles Steinheim, John A. Christie, and Franck Corpay.P. Schutt-Ainé, ''Haiti: A Basic Reference Book'', 44

Political unrest in Haiti

Hasco's operation was threatened by political turmoil in

in the years leading up to 1915. The danger to HASCO and other American business interests in Haiti was one of the factors which led to the

U.S. Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through com ...

invasion of the country in 1915 and the continued U.S. occupation until 1934.

Closure

In 1987, the company closed, citing smuggling of sugar from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

which did not pay a government tax and made domestic sugar uncompetitive. At the time of the closing, Hasco was Haiti's second-largest employer with 3,500 workers at the

Port-au-Prince Port-au-Prince ( , ; ht, Pòtoprens ) is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 987,311 in 2015 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is define ...

refinery A refinery is a production facility composed of a group of chemical engineering unit processes and unit operations refining certain materials or converting raw material into products of value. Types of refineries Different types of refineries ...

and 30–40,000 contracted

cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking *Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance *White cane, a mobility or safety device used by many people who are b ...

farmers.

References

* Sugar companies Agriculture companies of Haiti Sugar companies of the United States Banana Wars Companies based in Wilmington, Delaware Food and drink companies established in 1912 Companies disestablished in 1987 1912 establishments in Delaware 1987 disestablishments in Delaware 1912 establishments in Haiti 1987 disestablishments in Haiti American companies disestablished in 1987 American companies established in 1912 {{US-company-stub