Until the mid-19th century, Mexico was the biggest producer of vanilla. In 1819, however, French businessmen shipped vanilla to the islands of Réunion and Mauritius in hope of growing vanilla there. Vanilla did not grow well there, because these places did not have the right kind of bees to take pollen between the plants. A young slave, Edmond Albius, discovered how to take pollen to the flowers quickly by hand. Then vanilla began to grow well in the new places. Soon, vanilla plants were sent from Réunion Island to the Comoros Islands and to Madagascar. By 1898, Madagascar, Réunion, and the Comoros Islands produced 200 metric tons of vanilla fruits, about 80% of the vanilla grown in the world.