Today, sugar is a widely used product across the world. However, if it were not for Christopher Columbus, who brought it to the Caribbean Islands in 1493, this would not have been the case. Before that point, sugar was only produced in Europe, but following Columbus’ introduction of sugar to the Caribbean, the sugar industry rapidly developed due to multiple factors. The ideal climate of the Caribbean plantations, along with the increased demand from Europe led to increased investments in the overall production of sugar. In order to grow sugar cane you need the ideal climate, hence the reason why Christopher Columbus introduced it to Jamaica and Barbados. Due to the increasing amount of sugar being grown eventually lead to the crop to become …show more content…
Two of the islands which were best fit for cane sugar’s growth were Jamaica and Barbados (Doc. 2). Their soil and yearly temperature made it so that growing the crop was easier to do. During the heyday of the sugar trade, both Jamaica and Barbados were under English rule (Doc. 1). Due to their connection with England, some of the most successful plantations were run by Englishmen. One of these Englishmen was Charles Long, who at the time, held the largest amount of Jamaican land of any English plantation owner (Doc. 7). He and others took advantage of the ideal climate of the area, making the sugar trade thrive. As plantation owners were getting wealthier, the demand for sugar was also on the …show more content…
While the discovery of the proper climate, along with the profitability for owners, were important in sugar’s growth, no industry can truly flourish without its consumers. The consumers’ growing need for the product over time made it so plantations had to meet their demands, continuing the cycle of growth. However, the consumer’s perspective was not documented among the information used in the essay. This point of view would have been helpful in further analyzing just how important the consumer’s role was in the overall success of the sugar
Making sugar as it was discovered in the 17th century was a hard process. That is why it was believed to be an investment during this time. The sugar had to be boiled 3-4 times before the process was over, and the water was removed. What drove the sugar trade was the demand as it became such a huge stimulant. Everyone wanted it, and that's why people spent all their time growing it across the sea.
In conclusion, The sugar trade was most successful due to the high consumer demand and the slave trade. This is shown by the evidence of sugar’s addictive properties and its easy use as a sweetener with certain goods. However sugar does have its health and slavery issues, not allowing Africans and other slaves to live they life they
During particular time periods whichever product rose to popularity, whether it be cotton, rum, tobacco, or sugar, became the means of buying and selling or trading. Two major products that the people of the “new world” depended on during the early colonial times were tobacco and sugar. Both Virginia and the Caribbean were able to be successful and bloom due to these two major products. Virginia and the Caribbean had many similarities as well as differences on how they changed economically and socially due to tobacco and sugar plantations.
The rise of sugar as a commodity in England situated England as the world’s leading consumer. The increasing popularity of coffeehouses among middle-class English people, as well the introduction of tea from China, fueled the counties. England’s growing interest in coffee and tea greatly increased the demand for sugar leading to a significant effect on Africa and its people. The high English demand for sugar required land to expand sugar plantations, and an efficient source of labor to produce, creating a connection between all three. For example, if there was not enough demand, there would have been no point in planting sugar and if cheap labor could not be obtained, it would not be worth doing so on such a large scale because it would have been expensive and unprofitable. Since they had all these contributing factors in their favor the British were able to gain profit from sugar plantations, which worked as a significant contributor towards their economy. To meet the land requirements the British picked their Caribbean colonies because of their control of that region and its climate. After finding the land for plantations, England had to find the source of labor to work these plantations. The English turned into Africa for cheap slave labor. The British had tried the local Caribbeans to work on the plantations but these people were already affected by the diseases that were brought to the area by Europeans. As a result, there were not many Caribbean people to work the
It was the largest producer of sugar, and also the most valuable sugar producing colony, with much as eighty-eight thousand tons of sugar were being processed annually. In addition to the massive amounts of sugar being produced in Haiti, it was also a large producer of a variety of other commodities, one of which being coffee which it produced about thirty-seven thousand tons annually. Even further, the commodities that were being exported from Haiti totalled approximately one third of France’s external commerce. Moreover, a tremendous amount of the sugar that was being consumed in France came from Haiti. However, it was not exclusively France who was indulging on the commodities being produced and exported here, as the United States had participated as well. As a matter of fact, about all of the sugar and other commodities, such as molasses, that was being consumed in the United States had been imported from Haiti. The mass production of all the commodities did not happen by itself, but rather it happened due to the intensive labour of the slave population.
By the mid-1500s in Spanish Caribbean islands and Portuguese Brazil, colonists had turned to the quick and highly profitable cultivation of sugar, a crop that required constant attention and exhausting labour. They tried to recruit native Americans, but many were sick and eventually died from diseases brought by Europeans, such as smallpox, diphtheria, and
The long-term effects of the Columbian exchange included the swap of food, crops, and animals between the New World and Old World, and the start of the transoceanic trade. In order to produce a profit, Portuguese explorers were the first to established sugar cane plantations in Brazil. They then sold this crop to the Old World where it was a popular commodity because it provided Europeans with a sweetener for foods. In addition, European produce was brought to the New World, including “…wheat, vines, horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and chickens… Where they sharply increased supplies of food and animal energy.” This fusion of crops between the Old and New World became fundamental in enhancing the diets and food of both populations.
When the Americas were just beginning to form, spirits accelerated their colonialism. At first, sugarcane production was introduced to the Western Indies or Caribbean Islands by Christopher Columbus. The West Indies land was not suitable to grow wine vines or grains for beer, instead Columbus introduced sugar canes to the Indies, creating a major sugar plantation in the West
The British had many territories under their control with the qualities to grow sugar. In document 1 it shows that there are roughly 14 territories that were under British control. Also in document 2 it shows the ideal climates for the production of sugar and Jamaica and Barbados which are two of the 14 territories under the British control show that those territories have the perfect climate to grow sugar. The evidence provided is proof that since the British had so many territories with the qualities to grow sugar could have helped contribute to the reason the sugar trade was made.
Sugar was relatively unknown to Europe until the fourteenth century. After its introduction to the people of Europe, it gradually spread across the continent until it eventually reached the Atlantic nations. After the “discovery” of the New World, Europe was eager to expand its territories. Sugar was soon brought to the Americas with the explorers, and the global sugar trade was born. The sugar trade was driven by the high demand for sugar in Europe, its appeal to European investors, and competition between European nations.
Sugar has been a staple in the diets of Europeans for centuries. From desserts to tea, sugar has been added to everything. While it is unhealthy in large doses, the demand for the saccharide does not falter. Before sugar could be mass produced by machines, much of the labor was done by slaves. While this benefitted white Europeans, they were the only ones to have profited from this new sugar craze. The African population suffered immensely from the sugar industry as the working conditions of sugar plantations were brutal and they had no civil rights as slaves.
Many historians justify that the evolving of the industrial revolution was based on slavery and mainly the triangular trade. The triangular trade was the route taken by Europeans to transport goods to Africa in exchange for slaves to be taken to the Americans. The triangular trade was seen as the first system of global commerce which linked Britain, Africa and the Americans. The most important colonies for the sugar growth were West Indies islands. During the 17th and the 18th century Dutch settlers in Brazil had perfected their sugar cultivation at the same time the triangular trade was taking place between America, Britain and Africa. As the
After Columbus discovered the New World, Spain immediately sent Diego Velazquez de Cuellar (not to be confused with Diego Velazquez the painter) to establish a Colony on Cuba, Baracoa(1511). A rapid succession of other Colonies came-Santiago de Cuba (1514) and Havana (1515). This was a move that resulted in the eradication of Cuba’s natives, as they fell victim to various European diseases, most notably smallpox. Because the Island’s main export was kurtrice and tobacco, Cuba soon flourished. Soon, it became evident that more labour was required. Africans slaves were imported to Cuba. Despite this, Cuba failed to prosper prior to the 1760s. Spain possessed a trade monopoly in the Caribbean (which they intended to keep). They did this by preventing the Island’s in the Caribbean from trading with foreign ships. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Cuba was a perfect target for pirates. As a response to these attacks, defences were bolstered and the Morro Castle was built. Nevertheless, Britain was able to annex Cuba. However, the annexation of Cuba was short lived. British sugar merchants, fearing a decline in sales, forced the government to sign a treaty with Spain, which gave Britain
By then, sugar and consumer items like it had become too important to permit an archaic protectionism to jeopardize future metropolitan supplies. Sugar surrendered its place as luxury and rarity and became the first mass-produced exotic necessity of a proletarian working class.
By the mid-sixteenth century, Portugal had succeeded in establishing a sugar economy in parts of the colony's northeastern coast. Sugar production, the first large-scale colonial agricultural enterprise, was made possible by a series of favorable conditions. Portugal had the agricultural and manufacturing know-how from its