INTRODUCTION: Sugar and slavery-What was the impact of the sugar

revolution on Caribbean territory.

Sugar cane cultivation was introduced to the Caribbean in the mid-1500s. Large sugar

plantations were soon developed, and changes took place due to this the changes which

accompanied the introduction of sugar is referred to as the sugar revolution. To a great extent the

sugar revolution impacted the Caribbean with several changes some of these were economic,

political, and social impacts throughout the region.

BODY-

Economic Impact

The move from tobacco to sugar production changed the economic structure of the

Caribbean drastically. The rise of the sugar industry caused for the dispossession of small-scale

tobacco farmers. A change in the economy produced a change in the labour supply. Sugar

required sizeable plots of land and an unlimited supply of cheap labour. “The processing of

sugarcane into sugar required expensive buildings, livestock and machinery and for these to be

economically viable meant that large quantities of cane had to be produced.”1 Tobacco was

cultivated on small plots of land and these plots were too small to grow sugar, therefore larger

estates had to be obtained. “A parcel of land of about 10 acres had been sold for £25 in 1630,

which gives an average price of under £3 an acre. In 1648, when the sugar revolution was almost

1
Taylor-Kanarick, Dr. Yvette. Caribbean History Themes Volume 1. An Historical Survey of the Caribbean from Pre-
Columbian era to Emancipation, p 191.
complete in Barbados, land was over £30 an acre.”2 As sugar became more successful, the

demand for land increase, thus the price of land escalated.

The Europeans became completely contingent on sugar, so they introduced the

navigational laws because of the decrease in the demand for tobacco. There was a change in the

pattern of cultivation from a diversified economy to a monoculture economy. The sugar industry

had the investment of capitals, most capital came from England. However, it was not long before

West Indian plantation owners were in debt to European investors, banks and merchants.

Plantation owners would still ultimately become wealthy and show off their wealth.

Political Impact

The production of sugar increased the wealth of the colonies causing England to take a

greater interest in governing them. Politically, the British West Indies was converted from a

neglected area to the center of a weakened empire. Laws like the Navigation Act was instituted

by governors with specific instructions. The first navigation act was enacted in 1660, though this

legislation had roots in earlier policies. By the end of the 17th century, parliament had put other

Navigation acts in place and had colonial officials to enforce them through a system of admiral

courts, which controlled cases involving trade laws. “The Dutch because of their greater power

or ability to give cheap credit and transport and facilities to offer higher prices in their markets

for West Indian products had secured for themselves market which should have been available to

England and France.”3 The navigation act was put in place to protect British shipping against

Dutch competition and other foreign powers as well as to grant British merchants a monopoly on

tobacco and sugar.

2
Dyde, Brian et al. History for CSEC Examinations: Amerindians to Africans, 3 rd Edition, p 107.

3
Dookhan, A Pre-Emancipation History of the Caribbean, p 30
 The wealth that was gained from sugar increased the island’s prosperity and invigorated

advances from other European countries. “Their show of wealth and the financial gains to be

derived from their control, however, showed the wisdom of bringing the islands under more

direct control.”4 The 17th century saw the shuffling back and forth of the colonies from one

European nation to another. This led to a change in the system which governed the West Indies.

The Old Representative System was put in motion, and it reigned from the mid-17th century to

the mid-18th century, distinguished by acts, regulations, and enforcement institutions used by

Britain to govern its colonies.

Social Impact

Lastly, one of the major impacts of the sugar revolution was the social impact caused by

the sugar revolution. There was an increase in the population, as sugar required a consist and

dependable labour force. The sugar revolution was the driving factor behind the Transatlantic

slave trade which brought hundreds of African slaves yearly into the Caribbean. This changed

the ethnic structure which led to a changed social system. There was a stratification of society in

the British West Indies. “The growth of the monoculture was more than a spread of profitable

crop and a new market. It was a revolution which changed the whole racial composition and

social structure of the islands.”5 There was a repression of blacks by an oppressive legislation, at

the top were whites, in the middle were the mixed race (mulattos) as well as the freed blacks and

at the bottom was the enslaved Africans. (See Fig 1)

4
Dookhan, A Pre-Emancipation History of the Caribbean, p 51
5
Parry, J H et al. A Short History of the West Indies, p 64
 FIGURE 1 shows the estimated population of Barbados 1627-1780

Sourced from Winford, Donald. (2001). “Intermediate” creoles and degrees of change in creole

formation. 10.1075/cll.22.13win.

The sugar revolution also brought the practice of absenteeism. Sugar plantations were

often owned by a planter who lived in England. Many rich planters were able to return home to

England and set up residence there living off their profits from their West Indian plantations.

Absenteeism strengthened the sugar lobby in England, but it also brought about poor

management of the plantations. The effects of this on Africans was unfavorable as it elevated the

imbalance between the blacks and whites of the population and gave rise to social instability.

“Society changed from being over 90 percent free before the sugar revolution to being over 90

percent slaves after it.”6

CONCLUSION-

6
Dyde, Brian et al. History for CSEC Examinations: Amerindians to Africans, 3 rd Edition, p 110.
 The change from tobacco to sugar was indeed revolutionary, it brought about major

economic, political, and social changes in Caribbean territories. It single handedly led to an

increase in the price of land due to the demand being far more than the supply. It created an

economy that was dependent on monoculture. Politically the Caribbean islands saw the changing

of control by European nation as they fought for the wealth that sugar provided these colonies,

laws were introduced, and a new system of government was put in place ensuring Britain the

greater control of her colonies. Socially, it drastically diminished the white population as the

number of blacks in the Caribbean increased and also the creation of a mixed race (mulattos).

This caused a highly stratified society that was based on race and skin color.

BIBLIOGRAPHY-

• Dookhan Issac: A Pre-Emancipation History of the West Indies. United

Kingdom:Longman Group UK Ltd, 1988.

•Dyde, Brian, Robert Greenwood and Shirley Hamber. History for CSEC Examinations:

Amerindians to Africans 3rd Edition. Oxford: Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2008.

•Beckles, MCD Hilary and Verene A Shepherd. Liberties Lost: The Indigenous

Caribbean and Slave Systems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004.

• Parry, J H et al. A Short History of the West Indies, Fourth Edition. England:

Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 1987.

Survey of the Caribbean from Pre-Columbian era to Emancipation. Trinidad: Caribbean

Educational Publishers Ltd, 1987.