Columbian_Exchange_-_Sugarcane

Columbian Exchange - Sugarcane Sugarcane was an important element of the Columbian Exchange and unfortunately resulted in stimulating the American slave trade. “Sugar cane is native to Polynesia, where…small pieces were often found washed up on foreign shores where they were said to flourish. This was the ‘explanation’ of its movement to China, India, and elsewhere” (Hobhouse 44). Refined sugar originated (1432) near modern Funchal, Portugal. Vineyards eventually would replace the sugar crops because the Europeans had destroyed most of the island’s woodlands necessary to grow sugar cane. Sugar was introduced into the Caribbean soon after the arrival of Columbus in 1492 (51). “By 1530, there may have been more than a dozen sugar plantations in the West Indies, using imported animal, imported machinery, imported workers in an agricultural development in a new continent an ocean away from the market” (52). The reason for this new agricultural growth was because the tropical climate was perfect for growing sugar cane and this would justify the high cost of settlement. The Caribbean settlers planted every kind of tropical plant. “Sugar crops are salable while other crops were riskier. Sugar is extremely addictive so the sugar, trade, slave, cane, tropical, time, slaves, las, high, europe, crops, columbian, casas, caribbean, work, slavery, since, said, passage, over, new, men, imported, however, first, exchange, demand, been, world, whites, while, very, using, uniquely, triangular, three, started, spain, soon, servile, selected, role, race, plantations, plant, pieces, one, often