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The interface of race and accounting: the case of Hawaiian sugar plantations, 1835-1920

John Carroll University

Thomas N. Tyson

St. John Fisher College

This paper explores the interface of race and accounting on Hawaiian sugar plantations during the 1835-1920 period. The data examined at the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association (HSPA) archives indicate that Caucasian and ethnically Hawaiian workers were paid significantly higher wages and held a disproportionately larger number of managerial positions than Asian counterparts. In addition, workers from different ethnic groups were imported at various times to stem an existing group's solidarity and demands for higher wages and better conditions. We review the accounting techniques used on the plantations and provide examples showing how the HSPA employed racist policies, controlled labour, and instituted productivity and cost control measures. The archives examined contain an extensive amount of data on worker attendance and field productivity; however, they include no records on the performance of individual workers. The absence of these data suggests that race rather than efficiency served as the primary measuring calculus of plantation work.

Key Words: racism • sugar plantation history • accounting history • labour cost • labour control

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