Sugar in the Atlantic WorldJustin RobertsLAST REVIEWED: 08 June 2017LAST MODIFIED: 22 February 2018DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199730414-0140IntroductionSugar drove the expansion of European empires in the Atlantic world. From its cultivation in the Atlantic Islands in the 15th century to its production in Cuba and Louisiana after British and French emancipation in the 19th century, sugar was always the dominant crop in the Atlantic. Wherever sugar was grown, the crop brought with it the same significant transformations, including a majority population of enslaved peoples of African descent, higher rates of mortality, lower rates of fertility, the concentration of capital on large plantations, and sweeping ecological changes such as the elimination of timber and the erosion of soils. Sugar profits made the circum-Caribbean world, in particular, a site of intense imperial rivalry. The sugar-growing regions of the Americas always imported more African slaves than did any other regions in the Americas. Cultivating sugar was deadly work. The decline of the slave population was the norm in the sugar-producing regions of the Americas. It was also a particularly lucrative crop. Sugar planters were among the wealthiest producers in the New World. The 19th-century abolitions of the slave trade destroyed the sugar industry in the Atlantic world by choking the industry’s labor supply. After abolition, East Indian and Chinese laborers were imported to try to sustain the sugar industry; but without enslaved African labor, it was no longer lucrative enough to compete with beet sugar production. The consumption of sugar expanded rapidly throughout the early modern era. The escalating demand drove the expansion of the sugar-producing regions. The sugar producers of the Caribbean struggled to find sufficient labor in the era of abolition and emancipation and shifted to various forms of coerced labor to continue producing the crop. This involved an ethnic shift as well: African slaves were replaced by Asian indentured laborers. The abolition of slavery and the rise of beet sugar finally halted the expansion of the sugar plantation complex in the Atlantic. This bibliography will address some of the major works on sugar in the Atlantic world. It will examine both the production and consumption of sugar and examine some of the most significant debates in the historiography on sugar slavery. It will contrast and compare sugar production and consumption by the various national and imperial groups, but it will focus largely on Anglo-American sugar production, reflecting a bias in the scholarly literature. Show
General OverviewsSugar was the most significant agricultural crop in the Atlantic economy. There have been several commodity studies of sugar. Mintz 1985 is by far the most sophisticated and carefully researched of these, but there are other useful general studies. Abbot 2008 is a good example of a fairly recent publication. Aykroyd 1967 is an older overview from the unique perspective of a scientist. Most of the work on sugar, both general and specialist, has focused on sugar slavery in the British Caribbean. Most generalist works pay particular attention to the brutal conditions of sugar labor. Thus far, production studies have overshadowed consumption studies. Deerr 1949–1950, a two-volume work, exemplifies how thoroughly production can be explored. It is still often cited for its detail. Sugar as a commodity touched many aspects of the Atlantic economy, brought millions of Africans to the Caribbean and to Brazil to cultivate the crop, and created a class of fabulously wealthy merchants and planters and a political interest group with significant power in European government. Eltis 2000 offers an overview of the trajectory of sugar slavery in the New World. There were also cultures of consumption, addressed in Mintz 1985, that grew out of the use of sugar as a food, and the calories consumed from slave-grown sugar imported from the Americas might have enabled workers in industrializing Europe to work longer hours. The sugar boom fueled dietary changes and racialized consumption. Many aspects of both the production and consumption of sugar, particularly outside of the British Atlantic, cry for scholarly attention. Stinchcombe 1995, an overview of the subject, offers a nonspecialist perspective based on a general literature review of many of the debates about sugar slavery. Galloway 1989 and Moore 2000 demonstrate the possibilities for a geographical and environmental perspective on the historical geography of the sugar plantation complex.
back to top Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login. How to SubscribeOxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here. ArticleUp
Down Which of the following is an example of the policy of mercantilism?An example of mercantilism was the Sugar Act of 1764 which made colonists in America had to pay higher tariffs and duties on imports of foreign-made refined sugar products.
Which of the following concepts was the basis of mercantilism?Which of the following concepts was the basis of mercantilism? The government should attempt to maintain tight regulations and laws to create a favorable balance of trade.
Which of the following best describes mercantilism?What best defines mercantilism? An economic theory that benefited America by trade with England. The practice of trading goods for goods when gold and silver was not available. A country's power was measured by the amount of gold and silver it owned.
Which of the following was the most important assumption underlying the economic philosophy of mercantilism?Originating in 16th-century Europe, mercantilism began with the emergence of the nation-state. The dominant economic theory was that the global supply of wealth was finite, and it was in the nation's best interest to accumulate as much as possible.
|
The rise of the global sugar market was a very significant development in the era of mercantilism
zusammenhängende Posts
Urheberrechte © © 2024 decemle Inc.
