The Deadly Labor of Sugar
Bitter Molten Memories: The Iron Trains of Sugar's Past In 18th-century Barbados, sugar production relied on cast-iron syrup kettles, a method later embraced in the American South. Sugarcane was crushed utilizing wind and animal-powered mills. The drawn out juice was warmed, clarified, and vaporized in a series of kettles of decreasing size to make crystallized sugar. Barbados Sugar Economy: A Bitter Success. The introduction of the "plantation system" reinvented the island's economy. Large estates owned by rich planters dominated the landscape, with oppressed Africans offering the labour needed to sustain the demanding procedure of planting, harvesting, and processing sugarcane. This system produced tremendous wealth for the colony and solidified its location as a key player in the Atlantic trade. But African slaves toiled in perilous conditions, and many died in the infamous Boiling room, as you will see next: Boiling Sugar: A Grueling Task Ma...