Henequen industry in Yucatán

After extraction from the plant, henequen is processed as a textile in various forms to obtain a range of products for domestic, commercial, agricultural and industrial use.

[1] It was exported to America as binder twine for crops in large quantities, and worldwide as rope for mooring ships, cloth for sacks, and other uses.

When the next season begins, sometimes after more controlled burning, the ground is divided into mecates, which are partitions of land about 75 square feet (7.0 m2) in area.

The holes are typically made with a digging stick with a sharp iron point, and are frequently dug directly into the soft, friable, limestone rock.

This reached an all-time high in 1916 when 202,000 hectares (500,000 acres), more than 70% of all cultivated land in Yucatán, were dedicated to the production of henequen.

The wealthy elites, known as the Divine Caste by their detractors, eventually came to grow henequen in large plantations worked by native and African slaves.

[8] There was also an extensive network of 50 cm gauge tramways throughout the region, which uniquely persisted into the late 20th century as public infrastructure after the abandonment of the plantations.

[9] During the presidency of Porfirio Diaz in the 1870s, henequen production skyrocketed thanks to international investment, and in 1898, when the Spanish–American War broke out, the price of fiber spiked.

The sudden increase in demand brought great wealth to Yucatán and it immediately became the wealthiest state in Mexico.

During the early 1900, the State of Yucatán saw rapid strides in education, sanitation, and a general improvement in the well-being of the people.