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Henry Swayne (1800 -1877), a Scotsman born in Dysart,
Fife, emigrated to Peru in 1824 representing the firm Swayne Reid
& Co. of Liverpool. He was the youngest son of David Swayne and
Cristina Wallace of Dysart.
Henry Swayne was a resident in Peru for over 50 years
during which he owned and operated several cane sugar and cotton
plantations along the Peruvian coast. In 1851, Mr. Swayne married a
Peruvian lady and established a distinguished family in Peru which
has always been identified with the best interest of that country and
which exist up to the present time.
Henry Swayne won recognition for the introduction of
steam ploughs and other innovative farming techniques of the time and
for an exemplary treatment of the labor force. Numerous English
travelers of that time documented their observations during their
visits to Mr. Swayne's estates; among them Thomas J. Hutchinson in
his book entitled "Two Years in Peru" written in 1873, wrote :
"Mr. Swayne has four estates here (in Cañete),
namely Quebrada, Casa Blanca, Huaca and Carillos (Santa Barbara) all
of which are communicable one with another by tramways. The ploughing
on these is done by steam ploughs. Besides, he has a farm near Cerro
Azul, another close to Chilcal and a hacienda at Ungara on the
southern side of the second range of hills, that run transversely
through the valley, and south of the Cañete river. His
property in this valley includes an extent of more than ten thousand
acres, and has an annual produce of more than two million dollars'
worth in rum and sugar. At the Quebrada, I first saw Chinese
labourers on the coast of Peru. Their treatment is exceptionally
good, and on Mr. Swayne's different properties they number beyond
fifteen hundred (1,500)"
"The manufactory of Montalban is famous for its sugar
refining, according to the best systems practised in Europe. That of
Arona for the beauty and picturesqueness of hillocks. Whilst Hualcara
is well known for the excellence of all its products. The same can be
said of Santa Barbara. But those of the Huaca, Casa Blanca and La
Quebrada of Mr. Swayne, surpass all the rest, not only by their
discipline, but by their steam works, that are the most perfect in
the valley. They likewise realize the largest amount of products"
Another traveler of that time and United States
Commissioner to Peru, E. George Squier, in his book entitled "Peru,
Incidents of Travel and Exploration in the Land of the Incas",
published in New York in 1877, describes the deplorable conditions of
the estates in the Nepeña valley prior to its purchase by Mr.
Swayne and its subsequent development into a profitable industry with
the introduction of new technology and the employment of experienced
professionals. The following are excerpts of chapter XII:
"The hacienda, or estate, of San Jacinto was anciently
one of the largest and finest in the valley of Nepeña; but
before its purchase by Mr. Swayne, a few years before our visit, it
had very much run down. It was deserted by the negro slave soon after
their emancipation; the dwellings had fallen out of repair; the roof
of the church connected with it had tumbled in; the walls of the
cemetery behind it were crumbling down; the acequias had broken their
banks and were dry or only half filled; while the chaparral and
scrub, broom and acacias had invaded the irrigated grounds and desert
had encroached on them as the supply of water on the higher levels
had diminished. Its extent will appear when I say it was nine miles
long by not less than three in average width, covering the entire
valley from one mountain range to the other. Sugar had been the
principal product of the estate, but Mr. Swayne had supplanted it in
great part with cotton, and was bending every effort to increase its
production. Ginning-mills and cotton-presses had been erected, and we
found at the hacienda quite a colony of English, German and American
engineers, mechanics and overseers. The long, narrow, half-ruined
dwelling house, large enough to shelter a regiment, was in the course
of renovation; the church was undergoing repairs; and the quarters
for the Chinese and other workmen were going up, arranged and
finished with proper regard to health and comfort. Men were mending
broken walls, restoring acequias, making bricks, and planting the
garden. On every side was seen the movement and heard the inspiriting
sound of industry… The buildings of the hacienda stand on the very
northern edge of the valley. The position is high, dry and
commanding. Around all is a heavy wall, almost like that of a
medieval fortress, entered by a lofty archway."
On page 204 of his book, Mr. Squier summarized his
impression of farming in Peru:
"Generally the hacendado exercises
little judgment or foresight in the matter of irrigation and leaves
the direction of his estate to his majordomo, whose notions of
cultivation of the soil are purely traditional or empirical. A few
however, like Mr. Swayne, make irrigation a study, and with
remarkable results. Not only was his field of cotton large and
uniform, and the quality of the staple good, but the irrigation was
so well directed that each field was ripened in succession, at short
intervals of time, thus enabling a large crop to be picked with a
minimum number of hands and distributing over weeks the work that is
with us crowded into days."
The increase in production and efficiency came as
consequence of heavy investment in the acquisition of new properties
and purchase of machinery. Coins and notes were issued at the
Swayne estates for payroll payment and commercial transactions in
Lima. The wealth built by Mr. Swayne was seriously diminished in the
latter years of his life due to the drop in cane sugar prices as a
consequence of the important developments in the beet sugar industry
in Germany after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Also, the end of
the Civil War between the Northern and Southern States in North
America affected the profits obtained from the sale of cotton. This
loss was compounded two years after his death, during the War of the
Pacific (1879-1884), for although the intervention of the British
Foreign Office spared the Swayne's property from the plunder and
vandalism of the invading Chilean army, the economic dislocation
brought about by the conflict led to an increase in the already
overextended financial debt. In 1900, the surviving family of Henry
Swayne negotiated a deal with their creditors, the Lockett Family, a
Liverpool merchant house, which resulted in the establishment of The
British Sugar Company.
As a good Scotsman, Henry Swayne was known for his
sense of humor and eccentricities. It has been reported that Mr.
Swayne, not satisfied with the laundering at his estates, shipped his
dirty linen to be laundered in Liverpool as recorded in an article
written by Ronald Gordon, a former manager of the Swayne properties,
then operated by The British Sugar Company, which appeared in the
February 4, 1972 issue of the Peruvian Times. Henry Swayne was an
avid horseman and is recognized as having been the first to introduce
English thoroughbreds and establishing this sport in Peru. As a
tribute to his contribution, a race and award named after him is held
every year at the racetrack of Monterrico, in Lima.
Henry Swayne's death on January 29th, 1877 at his house
in Lima, was deeply felt not only among his surviving family but by
the industry and society of Peru in general. Accounts of that time
indicate his funeral was accompanied by numerous and important
members of government, industry and society.
The South Pacific Times ("The English in South
America") wrote in his obituary:
"It is with much regret that we announce the death of Mr. Henry Swayne, a gentleman
who for more than half a century has been identified with the best interests of this
country. Mr. Swayne was born at Dysart, Fifeshire, Scotland. He arrived in Peru in 1824,
and was partner in the house of Swayne, Reid and Co., his brother Mr. Robert Swayne, being
the head of the firm in Liverpool. In 1832 the house here closed, and Mr. Henry Swayne
took possession of the sugar plantations known as Quebrada and Casa Blanca. In 1833 Mr.
Swayne made a visit to Europe, and from the time of his return in 1834 he devoted himself
entirely to the management of his estates until, we may say, the time of his decease. Mr.
Swayne in 1851 married a lady, who with four sons and one daughter mourn his loss. The
deceased gentleman was in possession of some of the finest sugar plantations in
Peru."
In his obituary in the issue of February 1, 1877 of "El Comercio", Peru's leading
and most influential newspaper, the legacy of Mr. Swayne's work and genius to the
Peruvian industry was paralleled to the contribution of Grand Marshal William Miller, another
Englishman, in the Independence of Peru. Destiny has them resting within a few yards
from each other at the British Cemetery in Bellavista, Callao.
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