Sugar Production underlies Jamaica's modern story

It's hard to believe in today's world the impact that Caribbean sugar production had on Europe, but this simple white powder transformed Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries.

The wealth that it generated demanded an endless supply of labor, created wars and thieves not to mention rum being a product too. The labor required to generate this wealth created the Slave trade. Pirates and navies battled to steal or protect the wealth and countries battled to access and then control the taxes, levies and economy of sugar.

Sugar production was the first industrial level farming practice and many of the other grains that grew on the back of sugar, learnt their methodolgies from sugar and extended the need for slaves.

Until it was produced in such large quantities in the Caribbean, sweetness had largely been accessed in Europe from Sugarbeets or honey. The ready availability of this white powder caused the highs and lows and addictions that we more commonly associate with other drugs these days.

Despite the horrors that it caused, the story is fascinating. Read more here