 Complete the following phrase:  In the 19th century, the pineapple industry was by far the Bahamas most significant crop; it began shortly after the abolition of slavery and peaked between 1885 and 1895; it thereafter precipitously declined. As the pineapple industry intensified, the most productive lands were consolidated into the hands of an absentee merchant-landlord class domits by partnerships and limited companies, and the Bahamas had a monoculture in which pineapples were grown to the exclusion of other crops. This economic structure, along with the 18-month delay between the planting and harvesting of pineapples, and the risks of shipment and spoilage, put pressure on sharecroppers. The Bahamas pineapple industry declined for several reasons, including the 