<span> face-to-face sessions among the Great Powers of </span>Austria<span>, </span>Britain<span>, </span>France<span>, </span>Russia<span>, and sometimes Prussia, with limited or no participation by other delegates.</span>
The southern economy remained largely agricultural mainly due to agriculture's importance to the colonies as a trade export (especially cotton, tobacco, and other cash crops).
Once the Spanish settled in the Caribbean they quickly began importing slaves from Africa to work in the sugar mills. Sugar was in incredibly high demand in Europe at the time.
