Guano: The Rise and Fall

Guano: The Rise and Fall of an Industry

The Guano industry is acknowledged as having played a vital part in the history of South America, as it had triggered a global mass movement focused on exploiting guano wherever one could find it. The resource received international attention immediately, as a result of people quickly learning of the qualities that it had. Curiously, the world did not learn of the properties of Guano until the first half of the nineteenth century, in spite of the fact that the Incas had used the resource as a natural fertilizer several centuries before.

At the time when it became known to the world worldwide, Guano had been considered to be one of the most profitable industries ever to have existed, and, consequently, people began to invest as much as they could in Guano exploitation. However, its success soon proved to be short lived, along with the invention of cheaper and better alternatives to Guano.

The term Guano refers to the excrements produced by various animals such as seabirds, bats, and seals. Centuries ago, at the time of the Inca civilization, the substance started to be acknowledged as being an efficient fertilizer. Guano had been successfully fertilizing Southern American crops for several centuries, but it had not been until the Europeans have learnt of its use when the resource has been introduced into world trade.

It had virtually been one of the best discoveries ever performed by mankind, since it brought answers to different problems such as the financial profits it made for the countries which exported it. In addition to that, guano proved to be cheaper and more effective than any other fertilizers from the time. The fact that it could be used to generate gunpowder had raised its reputation even furthermore, with people from all around the world wanting to get their hands on the product and on areas where guano was present as fast as they could.

Peru is one of the countries which took advantage of the opportunity and thus raised the living standard of its citizens. The Peruvians had gotten involved in the guano industry to the point where the business produced large amounts of money, supplying much of the country's economy.

It had been obvious that guano exploiters would become rich as a result of utilizing guano. Not only was Peru making money to better its economy, but it also made enough to pay off most of the debts that the Peruvian government had had at the time.

Peru started to exploit millions of tons of guano, with the country successfully exporting the resource both to the U.S. And in Europe.

Merchants are responsible for the first interactions between the Peruvian guano and Europe. Determined to launch a full-scale industry, the merchants had made a contract with the British through William Joseph Myers. Myers promoted the fertilizer and arranged for some tests to be performed by British farmers. Learning of the attributes that the resource had, Myers immediately sent news back to the merchants in Lima regarding a potential financial support for a fertilizer trade.

Peru's economy had been boosted in the forty year period, from the late 1840s to the mid 1870s. There is not much information on all of the actions that needed to be taken in order to extract guano and nor is there much information relating to the costs required to produce it. What is clear is that the industry had come as a gift to the Peruvians. The production had been flourishing, and, in order to control the situation, the government claimed its ownership of guano. As a result, the industry became more complex, with only those that had been privileged having the chance to get involved in it.

During its early years most Peruvians embraced the guano industry, believing that it would offer solutions to most of the country's deficiencies. While the government failed from providing its people with the rights that they deserved, the European traders controlled most of the business, leaving little for the common Peruvian to exploit. Not only was the guano industry controlled by the Europeans, but the whole of Peru's economy had been at the mercy of influential houses such as the Antony Gibbs & Sons of London.

Apparently, the rest of the world had not paid attention to guano at the moment that it emerged as a valuable fertilizer. However, gradually, people started to see the effects that guano had on their crops and immediately realized that the resource would change the world of farming forever. Everything seemed to be looking up for the guano industry, with the only thing that people needed to worry about being the eventual draining of guano.

In spite of the fact that the Peruvian government had the advantage of owning the guano, it still had to collaborate with the contractors, since through them had been the safest method of exporting the resource. Consequent to getting control of guano exports, the merchants gained large profits, whereas the Peruvian government gained very little, with various financial difficulties emerging. The choice made by the Peruvians when concerning their relationship with the merchants proved to be faulty. Even if the Peruvian government had initially been in control of the business, most of the profits made from guano did not reach the country, with traders getting the biggest share.

The government initially signed a contract with the merchants, believing that it would receive most of the profits, with the traders being simple subcontractors. However, the situation became chaotic, as the government only received several thousand pounds, while the guano exported by them had been considerably more valuable. A main reason for the low profits made by the government over the guano trade had been that it did not truly appreciate the value of guano and it set a very low price for it.

The fact that the government failed from properly appreciating the true value of guano serves as proof that it did not have experience in making commerce. The business making abilities that the Peruvian government had had at the time were less than poor. A number of people seized the opportunity of investing in guano and significantly increased their wealth as a result. People like Andres Alvarez Calderon made millions of dollars from exporting guano.

James Johnston, professor of chemistry at the Durham University, had been among the only to claim that the guano industry would not achieve the success that its supporters had wanted it to attain. It appears that he anticipated that the guano reserves would become scarce and that the business would not last long. The Chincha islands off the Peruvian Coast had been the main source from where guano had been harvested. These were perfect for guano production, as the birds, the anchovy, and the islands worked together in creating an ideal environment for the resource to be produced. The Chincha islands had gotten the public's attention and this became visible with world powers such as the U.S., Spain, and France attempting to gain control over the islands.

Peru had not been the only place in the world where guano was found in large amounts and everyone had been aware of the fact. Accordingly, people resorted to exploring various islands from around the world reported to contain guano. Islands had been virtually cleaned of guano during the agitation. Hundreds of vessels traveled the globe intending to find guano, or, at least, to be among the first to discover an island with guano reserves.

While the people initially involved in harvesting guano had been slaves, convicts, and diverse criminals, the business slowly but surely started to lose ground when concerning the number of people involved. The main reason for the shortage in employees had been that little people wanted to work in such conditions. The solution came with employers hiring people from third world countries willing to work for low wages. Even with that, because of the miserable working conditions, most of the workers did not live to see the days when their contracts were over.

The government started to pay increasing attention to the guano industry, as it had been one of the main industries in the country. However, in spite of its interest in the topic, it still depended on merchants to secure guano export. The number of individuals extracting guano had constantly increased over the years because of the waves of immigrants coming from Asia and because of various people that had been ready to face any perils in favor of receiving a miserable wage. Even though there had been a clear shortage in working force, the government did not do anything to remediate the condition.

Apparently, the Chinese working in the industry received a bad treatment, with employers considering them to be no different than slaves. There have been a number of isolate reports relating to how the benefits brought by guano did not make for the people harvesting guano in horrible conditions. In spite of the condition becoming public, the financial interests of those involved in the trade proved to have a strong influence.

The year 1858 had been the most successful when concerning the amounts of money made over guano. Subsequently, people lost their interest in guano, since it seemed to have lost its fertilizing superiority. It appears that the success experienced by guano had been owed to several intervening factors. Firstly, guano had no serious competitors at the time when it became known around the world. Secondly, the fact that its British supporters had promoted it brought confidence to the farmers. The industry only lasted for a few decades, as people had focused their attention on alternatives. Farming changed along with the coming of artificial fertilizers, which surpassed guano both in price and in efficiency.

Not only did guano have to suffer as a result of better fertilizers emerging, but it also lost important ground because of its reserves being consumed. It seemed that all hope had been lost when concerning guano industry.

Other important factors which lead to the collapse of the Peruvian guano industry had been overfishing and the occurrence of several El Nino events in the area. It appears that guano exploitation was doomed from its very beginning, as a great number of events worked together in putting an end to the industry. Guano bird populations are experiencing difficulties in the present, with their numbers having decreased dramatically. Even with that, matters appear to have improved in the last few decades and guano is gathering again as a result of the birds receiving a favorable treatment.

Considering the fact that guano reserves are planned to increase in the future, the industry may return to being a profitable business. In the present, the Peruvian Ministry of Agriculture buys 80% of the total guano harvest.

Guano is not what it used to be, as it is presently used rarely, by organic gardeners and such. The success experienced by guano during the nineteenth century is known as the guano rush or as the age of guano. In their run for profits, people failed from noticing that their actions had devastating effects on the guano bird population.