Lecture on the History of Sugar and its Impact

Introduction

• Sugar's negative health impact (teeth, diet)
• Historical significance: drove the world economy, enriched old white men, empowered Britain's colonialism
• Related series: "Empires of Dirt"

Britain's Role in the Sugar Trade

Early History

• Imported from Middle East and Mediterranean (14th-15th centuries)
• Consumed only by elites due to high cost
• Portuguese settlers in Brazil (early 16th century) began large-scale sugarcane cultivation

Sugar Boom

• Sugar flooded into Europe, increasing its popularity
• Caribbean plantations produced 80-90% of sugar consumed in Western Europe (18th-19th centuries)
• Average sugar consumption in England and Wales skyrocketed (20-fold increase between 1663-1775)
• By 1750, sugar constituted a fifth of Europe's imports
• Average British sugar consumption: 4 lbs/year (1700) to 20 lbs/year (1800)

Labor and Slavery in Sugar Cultivation

• Sugar cultivation: labor-intensive, costly until use of enslaved labor
• Caribbean sugar plantations: horrific conditions for enslaved Africans
• Tasks divided by age and fitness: young/fit planted and cut, children and older people cleaned and guarded
• Sugar mills: dangerous, hot, especially during harvest
• High mortality: a third of newly enslaved died within three years
• Replacement through continued trafficking

Economic and Social Impact

• Slave traders like Edward Colston amassed wealth
• Colston's involvement in sugar trade and charitable donations for reputation laundering
• Bristol as a global sugar trade center with 22 sugar houses
• Wealth from sugar trade termed "white gold"

Decline of British Sugar Dominance

• American Revolution (1775) and abolition of the slave trade (1807) decreased Britain's dominance
• Sugar production shifted to America, especially Louisiana (also using enslaved labor)

Modern Sugar Production

• Brazil as the leading sugar producer
• Slavery abolished in Brazil in 1888
• Trinidad closed last sugar factory in 2007

Legacy and Repercussions

• Edward Colston's death at age 84
• Colston's statue toppled by Black Lives Matter protesters (June 2020)
• Colston's tarnished reputation in modern Bristol