The Rise Of Sugar As A Commodity Essay

To begin with, England found an important cash crop in the Caribbean. Sugar cane was introduced to the tropical environment of the Caribbean after Christopher Columbus landed in the New World. Sugar is native to southeastern Asia. Later, the Portuguese brought sugar to Brazil. Today Brazil is the lead producer of sugar.

Economically, the Crown did not provide as much assistance as needed to the colonists of the New World. Trade involved mainly countries other than England, because this way profits were maximized. England, once again, created its colonies for mercantilist reasons: profits and only profits. In reaction to these trade schemes, the Navigation Acts were enforced. Smuggling then grew extremely popular mainly because of price differences and simple convenience. Agriculturally, the main crops were indigo, sugarcane, tobacco, cotton, and rice. Due to high demand, several workers were needed. Through the Triangular trade, raw materials went to England and the Northern Colonies, slaves came to the plantation-dominated areas of the colonies, and manufactured goods went to the West Indies. Molasses was turned into rum in New England and traded for more slaves as well.

Today we take sugar for granted. But do we really know how it became the enormous product that it is now, do we really know what drove it to become this monster of trade? When Christopher Columbus came to the new world, he brought cane sugar. He quickly discovered how wonderful the land and climate were for growing sugar. In England, many rich merchants realized how successful it could become with the number of slaves available. Before the trade took root in central America, sugar had been considered a delicacy. Now, as it became more affordable, the consumer demand increased. All three of these factors drove the sugar trade to become the most successful and rapidly growing trade in history. The sugar trade was driven by consumer demand, cheap labor and fertile land.

In colonies, such as the ones in Chesapeake Bay, their entire economy was based on the production of cash crops. The plantations had a huge quota for cheap labor. As their own southern labor supply was scarce, the plantation owners often used black servants to get cheap labor. As the economy grew, so did the slave trade, and by the late 17th century, the supply of African laborers in North America was plentiful and extensive. Another way that economics had a huge impact on the development of slavery is through the Atlantic slave trade. The first slaves arrived before 1620, but until the mid-1690s there were a small group. This was because of the monopoly that the Royal African Company of England had, which allowed them to keep the prices high and the supplies low. However, when the monopoly was broken, prices fell and the amount of slaves arriving in North America grew exponentially. The need for labor to sustain their plantation-centric economy led to the origin of slavery, and the prices and monopoly of African slaves helped develop slavery into the basis of the southern work

Although there are many more factors that could be taken into account I believe that the increase in demand for sugar, the low price of slaves in West Africa, and the amount of islands under British control with tropical weather are the main reasons why the sugar trade was

The highly anticipated television series Queen Sugar is set to air on September 6th and 7th.

The sugar trade succeeded due to the increasing demand for the product, along with the advent of European colonization of the Caribbean, and the use of slavery as an efficient workforce. The rise in demand for sugar was partially a result of the addictive properties it had, which caused people to want more of it. The islands on which the Europeans were colonizing were ideal for the growth of cane sugar, the plant that is processed into the finished sugar product. With the use of slaves, the production of sugar was happening at a much quicker and cheaper rate than before, thus creating more sugar to supply the demand. During the sixteenth century, the Europeans colonized the Caribbean islands, which were perfect for running sugar plantations.

The international sugar trade (1500-present) had many effects on the global economy and society. It allowed and facilitated the mistreat of slaves based of the demand for sugar, as sugar was of such high demand that slaves would be murdered for not working hard enough, or killed by the machines they worked with. In contrast to this negative effect, sugar helped post trade and bolster some countries’ economies, such as Great Britain’s mercantile system and economy receiving a major boost because of sugar. Another positive effect of the sugar trade was the improved development of mechanics and technology, with machines being built to automate production of sugar, which helped towards the creation of automated factories and production lines.

Due to the efforts to colonize the Caribbean islands, by 1750 they were almost all owned by Spain, France, or England, meaning these countries now had access to and control over this area that they did not previously; they took advantage of this newfound power (Doc 1). Sugar requires a specific climate to grow plentifully (i.e. 68°-90°F) and this was something the Caribbean islands provided the Europeans with; if European countries had not had taken control in the Caribbean islands the sugar industry would not have survived (Doc 2). At this time, the Caribbean islands were the only location that the Europeans had access to that provided the correct climate. The landscape was ideal and led to a high crop yield and without it the consumers would be at a loss (Doc 8). Through the 1700s and into the 1800s, in Barbados, Jamaica, Saint-Domingue, and Cuba, sugar production rates escalated, but this vast increase was made possible only by the natural conditions of the Caribbean islands (Doc 10).

Because of Britain’s colonies’ land and climates, they were more efficiently producing sugar. Britain had a perfect trade route for trading sugar, and had two particular places that were perfect for growing/making sugar (Doc 1), which were Jamaica and Barbados. Jamaica and Barbados had the perfect setting for sugar making. They had the correct temperature, latitude, soil, and rainfall amounts (Doc 2). The land was a sugar making machine. Because of Jamaica, Barbados, and their trading route, Britain had an advantage in the Sugar Trade. They could grow sugar in places where others couldn’t even get close to the right setting.

Sugar was irresistible and that is why it was one of the biggest global trade items. There were pro’s and con’s to the sugar trade. Europeans got wealthy and powerful while slaves were worked to death.

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.

The play No Sugar by Jack Davis has various themes and issues covered in it. My understanding of society helps with the meaning of this text, through multiple aspects. These aspects are shown in the text through various themes/issues. These themes portray society and help with my understanding of No Sugar. The themes/issues are as follows; colonialism, economic depression and the patriarchy society. All these topics were a big part of Davis time, and when he wrote the play. This is the reason that we can see these issues portrayed through his play. Racism is a big part of his play and in the era when the play was written as well, and it’s shown not as a separate issue but is portrayed

In, “The House Made of Sugar”, Silvina Ocampo writes about the story of a married couple, a woman named Christina and her husband, the unnamed narrator. The story begins with the narrator’s description of Christina, a superstitious woman who would often act out on her own superstitions and would request loved-ones to act accordingly. However, as the story begins to unfold, there is a change that manifests within Christina, as she no longer appears to be the woman her husband married. Christina is depicted as a superstitious woman who allows little details, such as what season it is, to control aspect of her life. The narrator states, “When we got engaged we had to look for a brand-new apartment because, according to her, the fate of pervious occupants would influence her life” (91).

The production and discovery of sugar grasped civilizations by its amazing taste and capabilities. Sugars effect on farming changed how the Americas farm to this day, and has also created huge trade exchanges between continents and countries . One of the main reasons for slavery to exist for so long in the Americas was because of sugars high demand. So plantation owners had to search for more sustainable workers which led them to Africa. The constant bringing of workers expanded trade in the 1500s. Sugar also led to major milestones in history and changed food in many societies. It changed how we eat and how we use our world 's resources. It led the way for modern innovations in sugar cultivation and has given us more than sweetness. Sugar has helped scientists formulate new types of fuels which could be created through sugar cane.