Sugar and Its Impact on the World

Sugar had a tremendous impact on the world. The plant supplied a solution to the innate sweet craving with which humans seem to be born. When it first came on the market, people used it as a medicine. It was pricey, and only the elite could afford it. After learning how to process sugar cane, the availability and popularity of the substance grew.

With larger amounts of sugar in production, more workers were needed. This drove the slave market. Plantation owners used slaves to work the fields, harvest the crops, and process the sugar.

This raised ethical and moral questions. Was it right to own another human? As Europeans tried to gain independence from their own rulers, they had to also address the idea of owning slaves. There were protests and boycotts; slaves began rising up, and there was bloodshed and brutality...