The effect of sugar cane on both the Island of Barbados and England is one that cannot be understated. Sugar cane production completely revolutionized both the economy and the demographics of Barbados, while also elevating England to height of riches never before seen there.
The island of Barbados is located in the Caribbean Sea, relatively close to what is now Venezuela. Before colonization by the British in the 17th century, the island was uninhabited as the native people, or Indians as Columbus termed them, who had settled the island hundreds of years earlier, had deserted Barbados for more defensible islands when the Spanish began raids to capture and enslave them. The terrain of Barbados did not at first seem appealing to the British
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By the year 1775, the British Empire possessed far more land and people in the America’s than either of the world’s other dominant powers, the French and the Dutch, combined. From the colonies of the America’s, Barbados included, the English imported sugar, tobacco, and other luxurious goods. According to Greenfield, “The profits from sugar at the time were staggering.” For example, according to Professor Kenneth Morgan, “In 1686 alone, the British colonies in the Americas shipped goods worth over one million pounds to London.” He goes on to say, “By 1797-8, North America and the West Indies received 57 percent of British exports, and supplied 32 percent of imports.” These numbers help to demonstrate just how vast the British Empire was and also help us understand how important colonies such as Barbados were to the English …show more content…
Sugar cane completely changed the demographics, layout of the land, and the population of Barbados. Before English colonization, Barbados was an uninhabited, dense tropical forest; however, within a few decades, the face of the land would be forever changed. The forests would be completely decimated and in their place great fields of sugar cane would stand. The population would also shift from a majority of whites to a majority of black African slaves within this time frame. In England, the wealth and prosperity that followed the colonization of the Americas had never before been seen. Items that were once deemed “luxurious” or that only the wealthy could afford, were now being imported in great quantities from all over the
Europeans earned a good profit from the sugar trade. In Document “K” by John Campbell he stated that “It is because of the cheapness of the African slave that the British become wealthy”. This shows that all of the money from the sugar, that the European sold, won’t have to go into paying for the slaves but it can go straight into the profit of the sellers. Also in Document “M” by Franklin W. Knight, he wrote that “In year 1712, 6,343 tons of sugar were produced, but in 1792 9,025 tons of sugar were produced”. As a result of that, sugar
The colonies didn't quite meet the required conditions for cane sugar to grow, but it seemed to work out. In document 2, it states the cane sugar needs at least 80-90 inches of rain water. How did they do this when Jamaica and Barbados did not meet the requirements in climate? Well, it is simple, and it appears that they would've had to water the canes in order for them to grow, and in Barbados, maybe they even mixed the soil. This most likely made the job
Land was necessary during the sugar trade because it was important to grow sugar cane. According to document 2, the climate and soil types were ideal for growing sugar cane in Jamaica and Barbados. Therefore, the European countries who colonized the islands could grow sugar cane, sell it back to Europe who taxes and then receives tons of money. Britain than became more rich and a very powerful colony.
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 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.
In the beginning of the 18th century, the British government’s administration of this system had been lenient. The Sugar Act of 1764 was the first attempt to regain control over colonial trade, which had been neglected. This act halved the
The sugar trade has been a very important part of history, and nearly 80% of sugar comes from sugarcane. Sugarcane is thought to have become a part of domesticated agriculture around 6000 BC in New Guinea to India, then to the middle east, finally to Europe. The Europeans loved sugar. and dramatically increased their consumption of sugar as the price of sugar dropped with increased of sugarcane growing and production of sugar, which grew exponentially from the 1600s up into the 1800s and introduction of new consumables that contained or used sugar. so much that they started sugar plantations in the Americas where Christopher Columbus introduced sugarcane to it too the island of Espanola too grow.
Before sugar emerged as a major presence in the United States, European countries had discovered the power that sugar could have on their country’s culture. A major factor that influenced the British to embrace sugar was the fact that it was used in
By the early 18th century, with the peace treaty in place, Jamaica began to build vast amounts of sugar plantations. Sugar became the main export to England. Second, and not far behind, was slave trade. Jamaica’s location in the heart of the Caribbean Sea made it an ideal port for harboring slaves until they were needed to sell. This enabled Jamaica to be one of the British crown’s most lucrative assets (Encyclopedia Americana, 2001, P 673).
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
Columbus discovered Jamaica on May 5, 1494, one year after he heard of the existence of the island. However, the true history of Jamaica begins with the African-Jamaican people who came to the island twenty years after the English took control from the Spaniards. The history of Jamaica can be broken up into different time periods, which were defined by watershed moments or events. Jamaican history begins with the establishment of the native islanders called the Tainos who inhabited the island for hundreds of years before the discoveries of Columbus. (JNHT 1)
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.
One of the largest impacts from the colonial era had on the Caribbean is on its economy. The Caribbean was first mined for gold by Columbus when he discovered the area. When the gold ran out, plantations were set up for growing coffee and sugar to sell on the European markets. The system is ingrained into the culture.
Since the arrival of Europeans the Caribbean islands have been going through constant change. The loss of native peoples and the introduction of the plantation system had immediate and permanent reprocussions on the islands. The Plantation system set up a society which consisted of a large, captive lower class and a powerful, wealthy upper class. As the plantation systems became successful labor was needed in order to progress. Slavery became the answer to the problem. Slavery played an important role in the how the economy changed the islands because there was a
When sugar cane was introduced those planters who owned small plots of land either had to sell their land, merge their land with another planter and enter into a partnership or buy more land in order to grow sugar cane. Sugar cane could only be grown on large plots of land which ranged from 150 acres to 500 acres in Barbados and in Jamaica 300 acres to 5000 acres.