plantation mahogany impact doors true divided lite PLANTATION MAHOGANY What is a "Plantation Mahogany" of "Plantation mahogony" ? The Plantation Mahogany was one of the treasures of the new world which was exploited to the point of extinction in many areas. Cuban mahogany, which is also called baywood and Havana wood (Swietenia mahogani plantation), is widely considered the top mahogany plantation, but over-harvesting wiped out what was considered to be Cuba's finest natural resource. The logging practices were so mismanaged in Cuba and in other parts of Central and South America that experts point to them as examples of what not to do in terms of plantation mahogany management. One of the reasons for much of the harvesting has to do with mahogany's plantation importance as a cabinet wood, an importance which goes back several centuries. According to the authors of "The Encyclopedia of Wood," "The first description of the qualities of mahogany plantation came as early as 1595, from the carpenter on Sir Walter Raleigh's ship during an exploratory voyage to South America. The Spaniards began to use mahogany regularly for ship repairs from the early 17th century. True mahogany plantation is also commonly called New World, genuine and American plantation mahogany dating to the time it was first cut and exported around the world. "The first recorded purchase in England of 'Jamaica' wood for domestic purposes appears in the accounts for Hampton Court Palace in 1661, and the first recorded piece of furniture in Great Britain, a butcher's chair now in Trinity Hall Museum in Aberdeen, dates from the same year," write the authors. Plantation mahogany's use escalated in 1721 when the English Parliament repealed a heavy duty on timber imports from the colonies; the duties were imposed to preserve mahogany plantation supplies for use by the Royal Navy. Mahogany's popularity as a fine furniture wood was farther impacted by a shortage of walnut, which was the most popular furniture wood of the era, due to "a devastating frost which wiped out a large proportion of European walnut trees in 1704."