THE SUGAR REVOLUTION

CARIBBEAN HISTORY
GRADE 10

DEFINITION OF THE SUGAR REVOLUTION

 A Revolution is a drastic change that affects the way people live.

 The Sugar Revolution was a change from tobacco to sugar and the consequences of its
introduction on a large scale in the Caribbean in the 17th century
 It began in Barbados in 1640 and was completed by 1650

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TOBACCO CULTIVATION AND SUGAR CULTIVATION

1. Tobacco could be grown successfully by small farmers and small land holdings
2. One man and his family could manage all the processes of the manufacturing of tobacco
3. Sugar cultivation had to be done on a large scale and could not be operated by one man
and his family, like in the case of tobacco-hence Africans had to be brought in large
numbers to work on plantations.

CONTRAST BETWEEN SUGAR AND TOBACCO CULTIVATION

TOBACCO SUGAR
 Labor intensive  Labor extensive
 Profitable on a small scale  Profitable only on a large scale
 Required less land  Required larger amounts of land
(average 30 acres) (average 500 acres)
Average land required for sugar to grow 500 acres

Pastureland 80 acres
Woodland 100 acres
Sugar land. 200 acres
Provision grounds and subsidiary crops 120 acres

CAUSES OF THE SUGAR REVOLUTION

1. Decline in profitability of tobacco due to competition from Virginia which was of
superior quality.
2. There was a glut of tobacco on the European market due to increase production from
Virginia (decrease in the price of tobacco)
3. The journey to Virginia was shorter and easier for European merchants.
4. Failure of other crops in terms of profitability, for eg ginger did not have a large enough
market/while cotton took up too much land space.
5. Rise in the demand for sugar as a sweetener in Europe due to
a. Introduction of tea from the east
b. Use of sugar in the manufacturing of sweets
6. Sugar production became quite profitable, and planters began turning their attention to
growing sugar instead of tobacco.

REASONS FOR THE SUCCESS OF SUGAR

 Cheap alternative to honey
 Social habits were changing in Europe -tea and coffee had become a fashionable
past time
 Many tea shops sprung up all over Europe
 Sugar was not too bulky to be transported and could be carried in small ships
 Sugar was not a perishable product
N.B. With the introduction of sugar cultivation into Barbados, Jamaica and the Eastern
Caribbean several important changes took place which were revolutionary and far
reaching, hence the Sugar Revolution.

EFFECTS OF THE SUGAR REVOLUTION

1. Demographic Changes
While the enslaved population of the Caribbean increased the white population
decreased. For example, in 1645 Barbados had 40.000 whites but in 1685 it decreased to
20,000; in 1645 it had 6000 enslaved Africans however this increased to over 46,000 in
1685.
2. Social Changes
The ethnic composition of the Caribbean led to a change in the social system:
a. From an almost total white population to one of black- 90% free before sugar to
90% slaves after the sugar revolution
b. Ratio of 10:1 white in Barbados which led to the deficiency law. This law was to
limit the number of slaves to white or to have a balanced proportion. However,
planters simply ignored the law and paid the fine.
c. Social status was now determined by color-new social groupings were introduced
due to the sexual mating of owners and slaves. These sexual relations affected the
demography of most societies. Hence, the freed men population was heavily
colored.
Gradation of colors was often varied and of considerable importance.
Table showing color Demarcation
Union Color
White and Black Mulatto
Black and Mulatto Quadroon
Mulatto and White Sambo
Quadroon and White Mustee
Mustee and White Musteefino
Musteefino and White Quintoroon
 West Indian society became a society of color and there were different shades and grades
of color.
d. Attempts were made to regulate and define relationships between master and
slaves, that is, to control them. Slave laws were developed to achieve these goals
for example Las Siete Partidas (Spanish); Code Noir (French). English colonies
were allowed to make their own laws.
e. Dispossession of small proprietors led to an urban drift among poor whites.
Some became innkeepers, clerks, emigrated to other countries, became
buccaneers, while others became unemployed, malnourished, and died from
tropical diseases.

3. Economic Changes
a. There was a radical change in the pattern of land ownership, that is, small tobacco
farmers sold their lands to those wishing to establish sugar plantation. For
example, by 1667 Barbados’ 11,000 small landowners had been replaced by 745
large plantation owners.
b. Land price rose dramatically. For example, £6 per acre to £80 per acre in
Barbados.
c. In order to make a large profit sugar had to be produced on a large scale. Hence,
the large-scale use of slave labor to work in the great houses, the mills, the
factories and in particular the cane fields.
d. Literally thousands of slaves were forcibly exported to the new world, including
the Caribbean, each year and could be obtained very cheaply.
e. Sugar required adequate capital to purchase equipment and supplies, such as,
horses, mills, boilers, hoes, carts etc. Hence, planters borrowed heavily from
merchants and investors in England.
f. Overtime many planters became heavily and perpetually indebted to these
creditors (merchants and investors)
g. England gained much revenue from sugar production and The Atlantic/
Triangular Slave Trade. Thus, the West Indian colonies became ‘jewels in the
British Crown’
h. The colonies became monocrop economies, that is, they produced ONE crop for
export which was sugar.

4. Political Changes
a. Large landowners became eligible to sit as members of the Lower House of
assembly. Barbados was the first English colony to have a local assembly in 1639.
b. England allow the colonial government a lot of power, because of the huge
revenues they sent to her annually. England later regretted this move when she
decided to abolish slavery.
 c. The wealth and financial gains to be made from sugar convinced the ‘crown’
(English Govt.) to bring the islands under more direct control. Hence, the
‘proprietary system’ of government gave way to ‘representative system’ that is,
the colonial governors now represented the ‘crown’ instead of the ‘lord
proprietor’

5. Combined economic and political changes

a. The Navigation Acts of the 1650s were implemented to end the trade supremacy in
the Caribbean and ensure British trade monopoly.
b. The Navigation Acts reinforced England’s mercantilist policy, that is, colonies
existed only for the benefit of the mother country.
c. Profit from sugar aroused the greed of European nations who began rivalry for control
of these islands. Therefore, a war in Europe was accompanied by a war in the
Caribbean in the late 17th and 18th centuries. The islands changed hands several times
based on fortunes of war.
d. Caribbean islands became pawns in the game of international politics
e. Enthronement of sugar as ‘king’- sugar became the ‘pearl’ in the crown

6. Other Changes
a. High absenteeism of landowners, that is owning land in one country and living in
another. Attorneys managed estates for absentee owners.
b. Society became enslaved and restricted because of fear of revolts. Oppressive
laws were enacted as a result.

THE ROLE OF THE DUTCH IN THE SUGAR REVOLUTION

 Taught the English and the French planters how to grow and manufacture sugar
 Provided them with capital, machinery, credit, and marketing

THE DEVELOPMENT OF AFRICAN SLAVERY

 Necessary to solve labor problem

 The existing population could not meet the demands for manual labor
 Amerindians could not provide adequate labor as the Tainos had almost become extinct
and the Kalinagos were difficult to enslaved
 Indentured servants were too small in number and were contracted for a limited number
of years. Europeans were also hearing stories about hardship and ill treatment of working
on plantations. This led to a steady decline in the number of indentured servants.
 Africans were easily obtained and enslaved in large quantities
 The Dutch were the initial slave traders who transported Africans to the Caribbean.
 African chiefs collaborated in the slave trade
 There was great wealth to be made from sugar cultivation using slave labor
 The belief that nothing could happen to an African but old age
 Sugar replaced tobacco as the chief export crop and was labor extensive

EFFECTS OF AFRICAN SLAVERY ON THE CARIBBEAN

 A large section of the Caribbean population was subjected to sub-human treatment

 The West Indies became highly populated, profitable and led to changes in the lifestyle of
the people
 Racism and the exploitation of one race over the other became the norm.
 Slavery became the base of the society and race and color were linked to power and
status
 Sugar became one of the most profitable crops in the world and was enthroned ‘KING’