The Francisco Sugar Company was incorporated in New Jersey on February 20, 1899 and was the second of the Riondas' sugar factories. It was named after Francisco Rionda y Polledo who acquired the company's lands shortly before his death in 1898. The estate was situated in southeastern Camagüey province in the area surrounding the coastal town of Guayabal. The company's mill ground its first cane in 1902. In 1921, the Francisco Sugar Company purchased the common stock of the Compañía Azucarera Elia which owned the Central Elia and lands adjacent to Francisco. In 1952, the Compañía Azucarera Elia was dissolved and management of the Elia passed to the Elia Division of the Francisco Sugar Company.

In addition to the two mills, warehouse facilities, and 117 miles of railroad, the company also owned and operated two cane farms and the Port of Guayabal. During World War II, the company set up an alcohol distillery, the Compañía Industrial Sevilla, which was later merged into the Francisco Sugar Company as the Sevilla Division. Other holdings included the "El Indio" cattle ranch and part ownership of a wallboard factory, the Compañía Cubana Primadera.

The Manati Sugar Company was incorporated in New York on April 30, 1912, and operated the Riondas' largest sugar factory, the Central Manatí. The mill was located in the northwest corner of Oriente Province, but the company's vast land holdings--over 200,000 acres--extended into Camagüey. Of those 200,000 acres, only 30,000 acres were under cultivation. In the 1950s, portions of the unused lands were sold to a joint venture undertaken by Manati and King Ranch of Texas. The two companies formed the Compañía Ganadera Becerra, which owned 40,000 acres of land and over 7,500 head of cattle.

Record Group 4 of the Braga Brothers Collection contains the records of business firms associated with the Czarnikow-Rionda Company. The principal holdings in Record Group 4 are the records of the Francisco Sugar Company and the Manati Sugar Company. There are smaller holdings for thirteen additional companies, including several short-lived experimental ventures and minor auxiliary companies. Although most of the companies were based in Cuba, the records in this group originated primarily from the companies' New York offices. In addition, there are records of the W. J. McCahan Sugar Refining and Molasses Company, a refinery in Philadelphia.

Record Group 4 is divided into 3 subgroups and 47 series.

The official minutes of the Francisco Sugar Company are contained in 13 bound volumes and one loose-leaf binder. The series includes the minutes of each executive committee, board of directors, and stockholders meeting. The minutes for 1951 through 1959 are missing. Several of the volumes include subject indexes.

Series 91 contains records of Jacob S. Levene, Secretary of the Francisco Sugar Company. Most of the records were generated after the Cuban government seized the company's Cuban properties. The series documents the company's response and it's eventual transformation. Included in the series are documents related to meetings of the stockholders and board of directors. Of special interest are Cuban tax forms for 1952-1959 and stockholder cards that indicate citizenship. Especially revealing are the letters from former Cuban employees in exile and in Cuba.

Series 92 consists of a complete set of the Francisco Sugar Company's cash books. These volumes provide a general record of bank transactions on a day-to-day basis.

This series is comprised of miscellaneous financial records of the Francisco Sugar Company and of the firm's various divisions and subdivisions. Also included are the company's published annual reports for 1920-1967.

Much of this series is related to corporate taxation. Also included are auditor's reports, rental and loan contracts, and the reorganization papers from the 1936 recuperation of the firm from court-appointed receivers. Documents from the late 1950s and early 1960s reveal the company's financial condition on the eve of the revolution and during the early years of revolutionary government control. Documents from the early and mid 1960s provide information regarding seized company assets and stockholders' and former colonos' claims against the revolutionary government.

Series 96 consists of reports related to the production of sugar and invert molasses at Central Francisco and Central Elia. These include statistical outlays of grinding reports, as well as descriptive analyses of plant, field, and labor conditions. Included also are the general manager's annual reports for crops 1918 through 1922 and inventories of equipment and property (including real property) for the years 1922, 1952, and 1959. The 1922 bound report is particularly detailed.

This series consists of a general subject file which reflects, among other things, the company's efforts to diversify its production both in terms of expanding the number of crops grown and of increasing the number of by-products derived from sugar and molasses. This effort, which apparently intensified through the decade of the 1950's, was reaching its culmination with the nationalization of the company's properties in 1961 and 1962. Other files of general interest to the researcher include those on labor and sanitation. The expropriation of the company is documented in the files on INRA, agrarian reform, and claims against the Cuban government.

Series 98 contains outgoing correspondence of the New York office of the Francisco Sugar Company. There are two letterbooks, one cable book, and a envelope containing carbon copies of letters that were originally kept in a loose-leaf binder.

Series 104 contains records of the New York office of the Francisco Sugar Company related to the manufacture and sale of alcohol distilled from cane molasses. The earliest records in this series appear to have been the files of Jacob Levene, Secretary of the Francisco Sugar Company. Later files may have been generated in the office of Czarnikow-Rionda vice president Michael J. P. Malone. There is considerable documentation on the Sevilla Distillery at the Central Francisco including data on production costs, manufacturing reports, and Cuban tax statements. Of particular note, are the correspondence files and reports from Raphael Katzen Associates, consulting engineers, on plant improvement and product analysis. Records related to sales to European and U.S. customers are also evident. The latter indicate that Francisco also served as a sales agent for other Cuban distilleries. The series ends in 1963, after the expropriation of the Cuban distilleries, with Czarnikow-Rionda pursuing alternative alcohol sources in Brazil and Peru.

Series 83 contains a file of maps, charts and plans maintained by the New York office of the Francisco Sugar Company. Part of the file was indexed; other items were simply labeled. The last portion of the file contains copies of maps registered with the Instituto Nacional de Reforma Agraria in 1959. Most of the materials are copies of originals, although a few, rough, hand drawn maps are present. In many cases, the copies are overlaid with hand drawn additions and alterations.

Many of the maps reproduced for this file were created between 1910 and 1930. However, the copies in this series were, for the most part, generated in the 1950s.

The maps document the property boundaries of the colonias, pasture lands, the bateys of the Central Elia and Central Francisco, water wells, and railroad lines of the Francisco Sugar Company. The series also contains building plans for dwellings, warehouses and a school. Charts documenting fertilizer use and steam needs are also included. Accompanying documents are sometimes attached to the maps and plans. Other accompanying documents are stored in the first box.

Two of the indexed files were not found.

With the exception of the INRA maps and the accompanying documents in Box 1, all items in the series are stored according to size. The dimensions of each item are provided in the inventory. The contents list begins with a box list stating the dimensions of the items in each box. An inventory of the items follows. The inventory begins with the indexed items followed by the labeled materials. The last three boxes contain the INRA maps.

The Compañía Azucarera Elia was organized in 1915 as the proprietor and manager of the Central Elia in Camagüey, Cuba. In 1916, a majority of the company's stocks were purchased by individuals associated with the Francisco Sugar Company, Czarnikow-Rionda, and the Cuban Trading Company. In 1921, the Francisco Sugar Company became the sole owner of the Elia's common stock. The Compañía Azucarera Elia was dissolved in 1952, and management of the mill was passed to the Elia Division of the Francisco Sugar Company.

Series 99 contains the minutes of company for 1915-1940 and the 1952 dissolution papers.

Series 100 contains miscellaneous records of the Compañía Azucarera Elia and the Elia Division of the Francisco Sugar Company. Included in the series are production reports, inventories, balance sheets, auditors reports, and other records. There are no records in this series for 1932-1944; the Central Elia was idled in the 1930s and did not resume production until 1945.

Series 101 contains a single letterbook of correspondence from the New York office of the Francisco Sugar Company to its Elia Division at the Central Elia. The volume contains an index of subjects and names.

The Compañía Industrial Sevilla was incorporated in 1943 in Cuba. The company produced ethyl alcohol from sugarcane molasses. The company began production during World War II when demand for alcohol was high. The company was dissolved in 1952. Afterwards, its factory continued operations as the Sevilla Division of the Francisco Sugar Company.

Series 103 contains the minutes of the Compañía Industrial Sevilla and its dissolution papers.

The Compañía Cubana Primadera was incorporated in 1956 in Liberia. The company produced wallboard from cane bagasse. Its factory was located at the Francisco Sugar Company which was also the factory's raw material source. The Francisco Sugar Company owned thirty percent of Primadera's stock. Start-up capital for the company was provided by a loan from the Export-Import Bank. The company had been in business only briefly when its assets were seized by the Cuban government.

Series 105 contains the minutes, by-laws, and certificate of incorporation of the Compañía Cubana Primadera.

The series contains records on the company's organization, the construction of the plant, production costs, and early difficulties in the initial production stage. Also included in the series are several reports on similar projects in Peru and Puerto Rico.

The Compañía Ganadera El Indio was organized in 1953 to exploit lands at the Francisco Sugar Company for cattle raising. When "El Indio's" properties were seized in 1960, its 23,000 acre ranch had over 9,000 head of cattle.

Series 107 contains the minutes and agendas of company's board of directors, financial statements, balance sheets, correspondence, a ledger, and other miscellaneous records.

The Compañía Maritima Guayabal was organized on May 16, 1955 for the purpose of constructing, dredging and exploiting ports, terminals, warehouses, and drydocks at the Port of Guayabal. A major renovation of the port was undertaken in 1955 and completed by 1960.

The series consists primarily of documents related to the renovation of the port, including plans and specifications for the renovated facilities, and the operation of the terminal. Also included in the series are documents related to the management of the port by the Francisco Sugar Company in the years 1903-1932.

Series 81 contains business records of Inversiones Agricolas Santa Isabel, S.A., owners of the sugar colonia Santa Isabel at the Central Francisco. Included is a letterbook containing letters written by the New York office of the Francisco Sugar Company to Santa Isabel.

Series 84 contains business records of Manuel A. Lage y Cía., a cane colonia at the Francisco Sugar Company. It includes a letterbook of correspondence from the New York office of the Francisco Sugar Company to Lage and the Compañía Industrial Sevilla, balance sheets, and audits.

Series 85 contains the official minutes of the Manati Sugar Company. Minutes for 1959 are missing.

Series 86 contains the cash books of the Manati Sugar Company. Volumes 5-13 covering the years 1923-1932 are missing.

Series 88 contains the ledgers for the Manati Sugar Company. The ledgers for the years after 1950 are missing. Also included are those volumes entitled "old valuations."

Series 102 contains the business journals for the Manati Sugar Company. Also included are those volumes entitled "old valuations."

Series 106 contains records related to the Manati Sugar Company's bond issues, stocks and stockholders, taxes, and general financial condition. Included in the series are the company's annual reports, early audits, and SEC forms. The series also contains the receivership and reorganization papers for Manati for the years 1932-1938. There are balance sheets and tax records for several Manati subsidiaries (Ferrocarril de Tunas and Cía. Agricola Manatí) and citizenship cards received from stockholders after the company's properties were nationalized by the Cuban government.

Series 45 contains miscellaneous administrative records from the New York office of the Manati Sugar Company. The series was derived from several records sources and is divided into seven parts.

The first part of the series contains documents from the 1920s. These include cash statements and other data prepared for the board of directors as well as other records.

The second part consists of plans for the mill and batey prepared by the company's construction engineers, the Honolulu Iron Works Company.

The third part of the series is a record of colono accounts for 1913-1936.

Part four of the series is the largest and most comprehensive of the seven. It consists of subject files from the 1950s and early 1960s on various facets of the company's operations.

The fifth part is a 1959 inventory of the company's properties.

The sixth part contains copies of documents filed with the U.S. Dept. of State and Cuba's Instituto Nacional de Reforma Agraria in 1961 and 1959, respectively, relative to the company's Cuban assets and properties.

The last part contains records for 1966-1968 pertaining to the company's Manhasset Casuals Division.

Series 49 contains files of the secretary of the Manati Sugar Company for the years 1961-1968. The series includes information on the company's board of directors and officers. Most of the series, though, is taken up with matters related to the stockholders and the value of Manati stock after the expropriation of the company's Cuban assets. The series also contains information on former Cuban employees living in the United States and elsewhere and a file on the Trans-Cuba Oil Company.

Series 108 contains administrative records of Michael J. P. Malone, President of the Compañía Ganadera Becerra. The Becerra ranch was operated by King Ranch and the Manati Sugar Company on lands purchased or leased from Manati. Malone's records include data on cattle stock, correspondence between the ranch, the New York office, and Manati, and the company's December audit reports. Information on Cuban government intervention in 1960 and Becerra's dissolution in 1967 is also available.

The Bagasse Products Corporation was formed in 1926 as a U.S. corporation. The purpose of the company was to produce commercially viable alpha cellulose from cane bagasse. The start-up capital for the project came from a "Joint Experimental Account" established by José B. Rionda and Manuel E. Rionda. The plant was constructed at the Central Tuinucu. The company was reorganized in 1927 as a Cuban corporation, Celulosa Cubana, S.A. The company operated for more than fifteen years.

Series 79 consists of the journals, ledgers, and cash books of both Bagasse Products and Celulosa Cubana.

Series 64 contains records of the Cuba Cane Sugar Corporation. Most of the material in this series was created in the early years of the company when it was primarily directed by members of the Czarnikow-Rionda Company. Included in the series are statements submitted to the board of directors, correspondence, internal reports, annual reports, and the company's articles of incorporation and by-laws. The board of directors statements contain meeting agendas, treasurer's reports, cash statements, production reports, balance sheets, and sugar shipments. Correspondence is limited to a letterbook containing outgoing letters for 1916, "dead season" correspondence for 1919, and copies of letters for the period of December 16, 1920 to May 24, 1921. The internal reports include reports on Cuban ports and railroad transportation, mill production reports, and documents related to an outside investigation of the company's management. The latter was conducted by George W. Goethals and Company and dealt primarily with the relationship between Cuba Cane and the Czarnikow-Rionda Company and secondarily with the acquisition and management of Cuba Cane sugar mills.

The creation and history of the Cuba Cane Sugar Corporation is explored in greater depth in the papers of its first president, Manuel Rionda y Polledo. (See narrative for Record Group 2 for additional information.)

Series 65 contains two ledgers for the Cuba Commercial and Industrial Company, proprietor of the Central San Vicente in Jovellanos, Matanzas. (See Series 14 for records of the mill's manager.)

Placido Alonso was the husband of Odelinda Fanjul Rionda, daughter to Maria Rionda y Polledo and Alonso Fanjul. In 1906, Alonso was employed as a sales agent in Havana for commodities imported through Czarnikow, MacDougall's Export Department. In 1907, he was asked to manage the Central San Vicente, a sugar mill in Matanzas province near the port of Cárdenas.

Series 14 contains copies of letters written by Placido Alonso. The letterbooks begin in early 1906 when Alonso worked as a sales agent for Czarnikow, MacDougall. Most of the earliest correspondence is to Bernardo Braga Rionda, head of the Export Department, and is in English. Near the end of volume 1, mention is made of Alonso taking over the management of the San Vicente. The remaining letterbooks deal primarily with the management of the mill, including refurbishment of the batey, negotiations with the colonos, and extending the mill's railroad lines. Most of the San Vicente correspondence is to Manuel Rionda y Polledo and is in Spanish. The Central San Vicente was incorporated in the United States as the Cuban Commercial and Industrial Co. Letters to the corporate office and copies of daily grinding and cost statements for the mill are found in the letterbooks.

The series is not complete; volume 2 ends with a note that the last letter is continued in "copiador 3", but that volume was not found. Other volumes may also be missing. The letterbooks conclude in 1918, but the period after August 1916 is only briefly covered.

Some of the original letters for 1913-1914 are in Series 1. Manuel Rionda's return correspondence will be found in Series 2 and Bernardo Braga's in Series 8. Series 10 and Series 65 contain other materials related to the Central San Vicente.

The Alonso letterbooks were donated to the Libraries by members of the Braga family in 1993.

The Cuba Self-loading Cane Truck Corporation was a project company created to develop a labor reducing truck for use in cane fields. The project was undertaken at the Central Manati. The records consist of a journal, ledger, tax information, and several balance sheets.

Series 77 contains records of the Cuba Sugar Finance and Export Corporation, a company created in 1921 to expedite the sale of surplus Cuban sugars after the disastrous market collapse known as "The Dance of the Millions." The corporation was organized after the establishment of the Sugar Finance Committee. (See narrative for Record Group 2 for additional information on the committee.) Of the 10,000 shares in the initial subscription issued by the company one half were owned by the Czarnikow-Rionda Company or companies affiliated to it. The company was organized under the laws of Cuba, but the principal business was conducted in the company's New York office.

The records in this series are from the New York office of the corporation. Included in the series are copies of minutes, in Spanish, of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee, correspondence, and various financial records.

Series 21 contains balance sheets, and other audit materials, compiled by the Cuban Trading Company's accountants.

In 1966, the Czarnikow-Rionda Company acquired the remaining inventory of refined sugar held by Olavarria and Company, a subsidiary of its principal rival, Galban, Lobo and Company. The staff of Olavarria's Refined Sugar Dept. joined Czarnikow-Rionda Sugars Company, Inc., a subsidiary of the Czarnikow-Rionda Company, to manage the company's Refined Sugar Division. The Division purchased refined sugar direct from refineries for resale to wholesale brokers.

The series contains documents related to Czarnikow-Rionda's acquisition of the refined sugar business of Olavarria and Company and other records related to the scope and activities of the new company. Several documents shed light on the collapse of Galban, Lobo.

The Kenaf Corporation was established in the 1950s to cultivate kenaf and process kenaf fiber. The kenaf fiber was to be used primarily in the manufacture of sugar bags. The project was supported by the Export-Import Bank and shares for the company were owned by Czarnikow-Rionda and the Francisco, Manati, and Cespedes sugar companies. The processing plant was located at the Central Manati.

Series 51 contains the administrative files of Michael J. P. Malone who served as vice president and, later, president of The Kenaf Corporation. The files document the company's initial efforts to cultivate kenaf and produce a viable kenaf fiber in the early 1950s. The company switched to cattle feed operations after the kenaf experiments failed. Also included in the series are several reports on the potential of kenaf production in Cuba and Haiti and the proceedings of the World Conference on Kenaf held in Havana in October 1958.

Series 67 contains the journals, ledgers, and cashbooks of the Kenaf Corporation.

The Latin American Trading Company was incorporated in 1936 in Delaware and engaged in business operations identical to those of Czarnikow-Rionda and the Cuban Trading Company. In fact, all of the Latin American's clients were clients of Czarnikow-Rionda. All of the Latin American's sugar purchases were resold to Czarnikow-Rionda. Employees of Czarnikow-Rionda and the Cuban Trading Company served as officers and board members of the Latin American Trading Company, but none appear to have been executive officers or board members of Czarnikow-Rionda. The company was dissolved in 1941. Another LATCo was formed as a Cuban corporation in 1942. A reason for the company's existence is not known. It was during these years, though, that Czarnikow-Rionda was faced with its most severe financial crisis, and the Latin American Trading Company may have been formed to replace Czarnikow-Rionda in the event of the latter's collapse.

The series contains correspondence, minutes, purchase and sales records, balance sheets, and a ledger for 1937.

This series contains records of the secretary of the W.J. McCahan Sugar Refining and Molasses Company. It includes a chronologically arranged file, 1920-1942, of records related to meetings of the company's board of directors. Each meeting is documented by a meeting notice and, in most cases, the current financial statement or a schedule of general expenses. Other attachments such as agendas, dividend declarations, and annual statements may be present. Also included in the series are lists of stockholders for 1932, 1935, and 1944.

Louis V. Placé, Jr. was the executive vice president of the McCahan Sugar Company of Philadelphia throughout the 1930s and until the company was sold to the American Sugar Refinery in 1944. In 1945, Placé was made a vice president in the Czarnikow-Rionda Company. During his tenure at McCahan, Placé was active in the sugar refining industry's trade organizations. He was a member of the executive committee of the Sugar Institute and later helped initiate the Sugar Research Foundation. During World War II, he served on the Industry Panel of Region IV of the National War Labor Board.

Series 74 contains the administrative records of Louis V. Place, Jr., a vice president in the W. J. McCahan Suagr Refining and Molasses Company. Boxes 1-6 of the series contain general correspondence arranged chronologically and, in some cases, by subject matter. The contents of box 7 were discovered apart from the other files in this series and consist primarily of records related to Placé's participation in the War Labor Board during World War II. Boxes 8-10 consist of letter files for the years 1943-1944 arranged first by year and then alphabetically by the correspondents' names. Box 11 contains Placé's memoranda and notes on meetings of the executive committee, board of directors, and enforcement committee of the Sugar Institute from January 1929 to June 1931. They provide an unusually detailed picture of the Institute's activities and motivations. Boxes 12-13 contain correspondence related to the Sugar Research Foundation for the years 1943 through 1945. The Foundation records document Placé's participation in the Committee on Education primarily, although records of a more general nature are evident.

Among the correspondents in this series were industry leaders such as Ody Lamborn, Horace Havemeyer, Ellsworth Bunker, and Earl Babst. Lawrence Crosby, of the law firm of Sullivan and Cromwell, figures prominently in the correspondence. Manuel Enrique Rionda, a vice president in the Czarnikow-Rionda Company of New York City, was the president of McCahan during this time period. Letters between Placé and the corporate headquarters in New York take up most of the series. The topics discussed in the correspondence include trade negotiations between Cuba and the United States, the sugar tariff, labor conditions in the industry, New Deal and wartime government measures, and public relations. The management of the refinery is, of course, a major topic. Letters of a personal nature are also found.

Series 76 contains miscellaneous records related to the operations of the W.J. McCahan Sugar Refining and Molasses Company of Philadelphia. The greater part of the series is taken up with negotiations between the company and the United Sugar Workers Union. Other records include correspondence from the early 1920s, balance sheets, and records related to the sale of the refinery to the American Sugar Refining Company in 1944. After the sale, the refinery operated under the name of The Philadelphia Refining Company.

The Tuinucú Sugar Company was established in 1891 and operated the Central Tuinucú near the city of Sancti Spiritus. Close to the mill were the lands and mill (Central La Vega) of the Compañía Agricola Guayos. In 1951, the two companies merged and became the New Tuinucú Sugar Company. Guayos became the La Vega Division of the new company. The company also operated an alcohol distillery, the Destiladora Paraíso.

This series contains limited records from the company's New York office. Included are records of Central Tuinucu for the 1951 harvest, records of the La Vega Division for the 1952 harvest, and records of the Compañía Destiladora Paraiso for 1943-1949. Added to this series are annual reports and financial statements from the 1920s for the Tuinucu Sugar Company.