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Sugar and Slavery
Introduction
For centuries, there existed a connection between empires across the world. Such interrelation was majorly sparked off by the sugar and slavery. For instance, slaves were used in the sugar plantations to provide the labor needed, and the sugar was sold among the empires. This played a critical role in the construction of links between the multinationals. This paper seeks to address the role of sugar and slavery in the connection of kingdoms. Without sugar and slavery, the relationship between empires would not have been secure as they became because the two were critical trade items.
How Sugar and Slavery Connect most of the empires Long time ago
Ever since the age of antiquity, slaves across the empires performed various tasks. For instance, they took the most significant part if not all in the cutting of the grass, which could later be transported in ships to the far China and India, which were by inference the trading networks in South East Asia. (Gibson, 130). This greatly facilitated the relationship between these trading networks and, by extension, the economy was strengthened through trade.
Secondly, the conglomerates participated widely in the exchange of servitudes. By illustration, the slaves were brought to the Maghreb via the Saharan slaving expedition (Gibson, 130). This implies there existed a good connection between the Maghreb and Saharan slaving expeditions. Additionally, slaves were traded for gains and other material goods among empires. One of the essential items that were exchanged mainly for slaves was sugar, and at some point, slaves were captured, and sugar was demanded as a ransom (Gibson, 135). This depicts how sugar and slavery played a critical role in linking empires such as British, French, among others.
Interestingly, some empires sold sugarcane in their raw forms to other kingdoms. For example, Columbus is reported to transport the sugarcane cuttings to Hispaniola even though they received little in return (Gibson, 130). This informs that the relationship between Columbus and Hispaniola was strengthened by the trade which involved sugarcane. This kind of business facilitated the growth of infrastructure such as roads or sea transport to link the empires effectively. As a result, both the empires were able to tremendously improve their support and enhance trade hence strengthening the relationship between them.
Significantly, processed sugar was exported to other kingdoms across the world. It is important to note that before the sugar was prepared, it went through several different processes from the growth. All these processes were majorly done by the slaves who were considered to provide cheap labor. In fact, at some point, the African slaves provided free labor in the sugarcane plantations. The sugar after it was processed and ready for consumption were exported to Puerto Rico, and Domingo, among others (Gibson, 131). This export enabled empires to increase their sales capacity, and in the long run, profits were raised, and consequently, the realms were connected.
Empires were further linked by knowledge on the whole process of sugarcane growing. For example, The Portuguese planters borrowed the technical know-how on sugar production and applied the knowledge and skills in the South of Equator (Gibson, 132). The other example is the French and British that got help from the Netherlands on sugar production (Gibson, 133). This exchange of information on the sugarcane production informs that the empires were connected, and the link was made via sugar.
It is worth noting that empires were considerably connected, as can be witnessed from the exchange of cultures. By illustration, Portugal followed Spain’s discriminatory example by compelling the Jewish nationals to convert to the Portuguese culture or leave the territory (Gibson, 133). But since most of the Jewish had been captured as slaves to provide labor for a sugarcane plantation, there was a limited chance that they could be allowed to leave the country. This implies that they had to get assimilated in Portugal forcefully. In return, the relationship between Spain and Portugal was strengthened because they shared something in common.
One significant aspect the empires shared in stock, and that played a critical role in the linking of several kingdoms, was the high preference of African slaves. It is argued that African slaves were highly immune to diseases such as malaria and yellow fever (Gibson, 139). These diseases weakened the European slaves to an extent, most of them succumbed (Gibson, 139). However, the Africans, on the other hand, had experienced such diseases back in their motherland and therefore gained resistance to the infection. As a result, the empires traded in African slaves. For example, Gibson (p.140) reports that the Barbados empire, French Islands, Dutch Islands, Danish West Indies, among others, were linked by the African slaves who worked on their respective sugar plantations.
Furthermore, empires, like Barbados, did not have active processing factories. As a result, they used to pack the loaves of unrefined muscovado into hogsheads for further processing in either Amsterdam, Liverpool, or any other empire (Gibson, 142). The aim of this was to ensure the final processing converted the unrefined loaves into white crystals (Gibson, 142). The white diamonds could then be used as a sugar and were sold to other multinationals as well. This played a critical in connecting such empires.
Through sugar production, the conglomerates linked up on several items that facilitated the smooth growth of sugarcane and the creation of sugar. For example, most of the empires that grew sugarcane lacked utensils like coppers, mill cases, ladles, skimmers, mills, stills, among others (Gibson, 143). As a result, they had to import such items from Britain (Gibson, 143). From these imports, trade among the empires was strengthened and hence the economic development among them. Consequently, the multinationals remained connected.
Among the kingdoms, sugar was primarily used as hot food. This was so in places like the Caribbean societies, among others (Mintz, 1985). By default, the fact that they shared sugar as hot food is proof enough that they were connected. This is because trade on sugar between these empires was intensified. For example, Puerto Rico grew sugar, and it was consumed in Seville, Boston, among others (Mintz, 1985). The outcome of this is the secure link in empires.
According to Mintz (1985), sugar was first domesticated in New Guinea, first processed in India, and first carried out to the New World by Columbus. Additionally, in Britain, the capital earned through slavery and sugar was invested in the construction of factories and the same in the West Indies (Mintz, 181). Again, after the end of the Spanish war that had begun in 1701, the British were contracted to provide slaves from Africa to Spanish America, the valuable Asiento (Mintz, 148). All these acts confirm the connection of the empires, which was majorly built on sugar and slavery.
Conclusion
Without sugar and slavery, the connection among various empires would not have been as secure as they developed. This is because the two were critical trade items across the realms. The report discussed the participation of slaves and sugar in the strengthening of the connection among several kingdoms. Some concepts on how sugar and slaves facilitated the connection in multinationals as discussed include the exchange of slaves, sale of sugar and sugarcane, borrowing of knowledge from other empires, dialogue of cultures, increased trade on essential items for sugar products such as the coppers, mills, ladles among others.
Works Cited
Gibson, Carrie. 2014. Sugar. In Empire’s Crossroads: A History of the Caribbean from Columbus to Present Day. Macmillan Publishing Company. Pp.130-144.
Mintz, S., 1985. Introduction. In Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History. Pg. XV-XXX.