Running Heading: SUGAR REVOLUTION IMPACT ON BARBADOS Munnings 1

The Impact of the Sugar Revolution on the Country of Barbados

Rupert Munnings

HIS 251 – 1 Caribbean Slave Systems

Professor Lisa Revers BA History

23 August 2019
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There is no doubt that sugarcane is one of the oldest and most valuable resource on earth

to date. Fathom the reality that a single easily cultivated crops can be so impactful to start a

revolution that not only affected the Caribbean but also the world. For centuries sugarcane

production has been a large determinant of European powers wealth and their influence over the

poverty stricken in their respective countries. From all those European powers, the leading power

at the focus period of the 15th century to the 19th century within the Caribbean was the Dutch1.

The Dutch ingenuity and investment is what propelled them to start one of the leading sugarcane

plantations in the Caribbean. Furthermore, that unique relationship between the Dutch and

Caribbean specifically Barbados can be argued to have impacted and causing rapid growth and

development of the region. The impact that the sugar revolution had on Barbados’ development

can be assessed from three points of view an economic, political, and social, all with its origin

begin the arrival of the Dutch from Brazil.

Moreover, the sugar revolution began in 1640 and ended in 16502, this is important to

note because it showcased Barbados, in comparison to other Caribbean islands as rapidly

developing and thriving. Through trial and error the Dutch found the most effective way for them

to cultivate sugar on the island of Barbados3. Sugar became the forefront of Barbados’

agricultural production. This sparked the rapid development and growth of Barbados’ economy.

Due to the new growing need for sugar in European countries Barbadian sugar planter started to

increase the amount of land and labor needed to cultivate sugar. This economic development can

clearly be seen in purchasing of small scale farmers lands and the importation of slaves. 4 This

1
Bovill, E.W. (1968). Dutch Investments and Incentives. Oxford University Press.
2
. James Bovard (April 1998). "The Great Sugar Shaft". Freedom Daily. The Future of Freedom Foundation. 29
August 2011
3
Beckles, Hilary McD., and Andrew Downes. "The Economics of Transition to the Black Labor System in
Barbados, 1630-1680," Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 18, No. 2 (pp. 225–247
4
Beckles, Hilary McD., and Andrew Downes. "The Economics of Transition to the Black Labor System in
Barbados, 1630-1680," Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Autumn 1987),
SUGAR REVOLUTION IMPACT ON BARBADOS Munnings 3

switch in cultivation and means of cultivation lead to a large influx of capital raising the

economic value of Barbados.

Furthermore, the elite in Barbados chose a form of sugar cultivation that yielded the

greatest profits however, it resulted in a profound social deficit. The establishment of large scale

sugarcane plantations, created a system whereby oppressed laborers from West Africa were used

to cultivate the land.5 The West Africans were brought to the island and enslaved using a series

of slave laws enacted from 1636.6 Moreover, as a result of the sugar revolution and its new

settlers the society in Barbados was made up of three categories of people: the free, the

indentured laborers, and the enslaved.7 In doing so they also incorporate Race which was a

central determinant of status in their society. This cultural integration is what lead to the

development of three ethnic, groups. The first were the whites, then the coloureds, who were

part-European and part-African and at the bottom blacks.8 The development of Barbadian

society, whereby there is now a mixture of culture is a result of the sugar revolution and also the

cause of a system of oppression which placed slaves at the bottom.

One of the last largest impact of the sugar revolution on the island of Barbados was the

creation of a new political system and in term a political structure. The increasing wealth from

the production of sugar influenced the consolidation of political power for a planter elite. 9 When

the Barbadian society became a plantocracy the white planters controlled the economy and

government institutions. Due to Barbados’ new form of leadership the enslaved started

5
"Sugarcane processing" (PDF). Environmental Protection Agency, United States. 2005
6
John A. Shoup III (2011). Ethnic Groups of Africa pp. 253–254
7
Etal.
8
Lagerlöf, Nils-Petter (November 12, 2006). "Cultural Inclusion in Caribbran". Ideas. repec.org. Retrieved May 6,
2009
9
Z. Dong et al., A Nitrogen-Fixing Endophyte of Sugarcane Stems (A New Role for the Apoplast), Plant
Physiology, 1994, Vol 105, Issue 4 1139–1147
SUGAR REVOLUTION IMPACT ON BARBADOS Munnings 4

resisting10. Moreover, the authoritarian power of plantocracy was effective in ensuring that there

was no threat to their control.11. The Barbadians need for, land labor and capital is what later led

to Barbados developing a more complex political system.

The impact the sugar revolution had on Barbados can clearly be seen with the level of

development a prosperity it gain after the Dutch introduction of sugarcane However, whether the

revolutions impact had positive or negative effect on Barbados’ development is still up for

debate. This essay highlights some of the numerous impact that the sugar revolution had on

Barbados. Like, Barbados’s economic development through the switch to sugarcane cultivation.

Barbados’ social/societal development through the cultural integration and interaction between

the free, indentured and enslaved and also the political growth and development. Barbados today

no longer has such an influential and revolutionary role in today’s global sugar operations.

However, it does hold the title for being the first to show the world sugar can be a profitable

means of development.

10
B.W. Higman. "The West India Interest in Parliament," Historical Studies (1967), 13: pp. 1-19.
11
Etal
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Bibliography

Bovill, E.W. (1968). Dutch Investments and Incentives. Oxford University Press.

James Bovard (April 1998). "The Great Sugar Shaft". Freedom Daily. The Future of Freedom

Foundation. 29 August 2011

Beckles, Hilary McD., and Andrew Downes. "The Economics of Transition to the Black Labor

System in Barbados, 1630-1680," Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 18, No. 2

(Autumn 1987),

"Sugarcane processing" (PDF). Environmental Protection Agency, United States. 2005

John A. Shoup III (2011). Ethnic Groups of Africa pp. 253–254

Lagerlöf, Nils-Petter (November 12, 2006). "Cultural Inclusion in Caribbran". Ideas. repec.org.

Retrieved May 6, 2009

Z. Dong et al., A Nitrogen-Fixing Endophyte of Sugarcane Stems (A New Role for the

Apoplast), Plant Physiology, 1994, Vol 105, Issue 4 1139–1147

B.W. Higman. "The West India Interest in Parliament," Historical Studies (1967), 13: pp. 1-19.