The Deadly Labor of Sugar
Boiling Down Sugar: The Iron Heart of Barbados' Sugar In 18th-century Barbados, cane sugar production required the use of cast-iron syrup kettles, a technique later on embraced in the American South. Sugarcane was squashed using wind and animal-powered mills. The drawn out juice was heated up, clarified, and evaporated in a series of pots of reducing size to make crystallized sugar. Sugar in Barbados. Sugarcane cultivation began in Barbados in the early 1640s, when Dutch merchants introduced sugar cane harvesting. By the mid-17th century, Barbados had actually turned into one of the most affluent colonies in the British Empire, making the nickname "Little England." But all was not sweetness in the land of Sugar as we discover next: The Dangerous Labour Of Sugar In the glory of Barbados' sun-soaked coasts and lively plant lies a darker tale of durability and difficulty-- the dangerous labour behind its once-thriving sugar economy. Central to this s...