Noun
A tropical American agave, Agave fourcroydes, whose thick, sword-shaped leaves yield a coarse reddish fibre used in making rope etc.
The fibre from this plant (sometimes mistakenly called sisal, which is from Agave sisalana).
Source: en.wiktionary.orgAfter discovering the value of the plant, the wealthier Yucateco criollos started plantations, beginning in 1833, to cultivate it on a large scale; not long after the henequen boom, a boom in sugar production led to more wealth. Source: Internet
Higgens, p. 99. He also changed state policies to favor foreign investment, favored large land mass consolidation for the production of cash crops such as henequen, rubber, guayule, cochineal and coffee. Source: Internet
Once their contracts were up, most settled in Mexico, either continuing to work on henequen plantations or moving to various cities in the country. Source: Internet