The Sugar Revolution
The Sugar Revolution
Revolution means a complete change in a system. There was an economic revolution that occurred in the 17th Century. Some refer to it as the Sugar Revolution. During this period, several basic changes took place.
(1) Sugar replaced tobacco as the chief export crop in the Caribbean.
(2) The population changed from one that was mainly white to one that was mainly black because of the introduction of African slaves.
(3) The size of land holdings changed. This change was pioneered by the Dutch, who provided the capital to establish sugar plantations. They also taught the British and French planters how to manufacture sugar and provided a market for the sugar which was produced.
The Sugar Revolution occurred first in Barbados where it took a mere decade for the transformation to take place (1640 to 1650). It happened at a slower pace in other islands. Some other small islands had fast rates of change such as: Nevis, Antigua, St Kitts and Montserrat.
Why was Barbados the First Island to change to Sugar Production?
1) Barbados had comparatively speaking a larger population size than the other Eastern Caribbean islands. Therefore the planters felt secure enough to make such huge investment believing that they would be able to defend themselves against attack.
2) There were many wealthy planters in Barbados as a result of the huge profits made from the sale of tobacco in earlier years.
3) Sugar production required more land and labour; the fact that the island had a larger population size than the rest of the Eastern Caribbean islands meant that there were enough labourers to get started and the richer planters could buy more land.
4) A revolt that started in 1645 in Brazil against Dutch rule meant that the Dutch could no longer buy the sugar they wanted there or sell African slaves to Brazilian sugar planters. Instead, the Dutch began to sell African slaves cheaply in Barbados and gave the Barbadian planers a good price for their
Revolution means a complete change in a system. There was an economic revolution that occurred in the 17th Century. Some refer to it as the Sugar Revolution. During this period, several basic changes took place.
(1) Sugar replaced tobacco as the chief export crop in the Caribbean.
(2) The population changed from one that was mainly white to one that was mainly black because of the introduction of African slaves.
(3) The size of land holdings changed. This change was pioneered by the Dutch, who provided the capital to establish sugar plantations. They also taught the British and French planters how to manufacture sugar and provided a market for the sugar which was produced.
The Sugar Revolution occurred first in Barbados where it took a mere decade for the transformation to take place (1640 to 1650). It happened at a slower pace in other islands. Some other small islands had fast rates of change such as: Nevis, Antigua, St Kitts and Montserrat.
Why was Barbados the First Island to change to Sugar Production?
1) Barbados had comparatively speaking a larger population size than the other Eastern Caribbean islands. Therefore the planters felt secure enough to make such huge investment believing that they would be able to defend themselves against attack.
2) There were many wealthy planters in Barbados as a result of the huge profits made from the sale of tobacco in earlier years.
3) Sugar production required more land and labour; the fact that the island had a larger population size than the rest of the Eastern Caribbean islands meant that there were enough labourers to get started and the richer planters could buy more land.
4) A revolt that started in 1645 in Brazil against Dutch rule meant that the Dutch could no longer buy the sugar they wanted there or sell African slaves to Brazilian sugar planters. Instead, the Dutch began to sell African slaves cheaply in Barbados and gave the Barbadian planers a good price for their