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The agrarian sector has been strongly affected during the last few decades due to the liberalization of markets and the decrease in State intervention. In the case of the cultivation of sugar cane and the sugar agro-industry that have been strongly affected by these changes, different strategies have been adopted, varying from one region to another. In this research, we will study the case of Los Reyes Valley in the State of Michoacán, in which the cultivation of sugar cane has been continuous since Colonial times. However, in the nineties, the export crops of blackberry have gained terrain progressively at the expense of sugar cane, and this has caused multiple economic and social changes as well as changes in the landscapes. We will study the impact of the cultivation of blackberries in the valley and the resiliency of sugar cane in view of this new production, profitable but surely ephemeral.

In 1732 the Dutch East India Company (VOC) ship Binnenwijzend undertook a slaving voyage to Madagascar in order to furnish the gold mines of Sumatra with manpower. By using unique and unpublished archival material we have been able to retrace the dynamics of this exceptional slaving expedition, from the armament to her return to Batavia. Thanks to this voyage, we can learn a lot on the political and economic situation of the Sakalava people of Madagascar as well as that of the VOC. Together with other data compiled from similar expeditions, this voyage allows us to better understand the commercial interactions between Dutch merchants and Malagasy sovereigns during a poorly known period when maritime trade with Europeans was developing rapidly. Finally this evidence gives us more unique details on the conditions of slaves during an uncommon middle passage.