The Bitter Side of Sweet
In 18th-century Barbados, sugar production counted on cast-iron syrup kettles, an approach later on embraced in the American South. Sugarcane was crushed utilizing wind and animal-powered mills. The extracted juice was warmed, clarified, and evaporated in a series of pots of decreasing size to make crystallized sugar.
The Bitter Sweet Land: Barbados Sugar Economy. Barbados, often called the "Gem of the Caribbean," owes much of its historic prominence to one commodity: sugar. This golden crop changed the island from a little colonial station into a powerhouse of the global economy throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Yet, the sweet success of sugar was built on a foundation of enslaved labour, a truth that casts a shadow over its legacy.
Boiling Sugar: A Grueling Job
Sugar production in the 17th and 18th centuries was a highly dangerous procedure. After gathering and squashing the sugarcane, its juice was boiled in enormous cast iron kettles until it turned into sugar. These pots, typically organized in a series called a"" train"" were warmed by blazing fires that enslaved Africans needed to stoke continuously. The heat was extreme, , and the work unrelenting. Enslaved workers withstood long hours, typically standing near to the inferno, running the risk of burns and exhaustion. Splashes of the boiling liquid were not uncommon and could cause serious, even fatal, injuries.
Now, the large cast iron boiling pots function as pointers of this uncomfortable past. Spread throughout gardens, museums, and historical sites in Barbados, they stand as quiet witnesses to the lives they touched. These antiques encourage us to reflect on the human suffering behind the sweetness that as soon as drove global economies.
HISTORICAL RECORDS!
Proof of The Deadly Truth of the Boiling House
Historic accounts, such as those by abolitionist James Ramsay, uncover the hidden horrors of Caribbean sugar plantations. Enslaved workers withstood severe heat and the constant risk of falling into boiling barrels-- a grim reality of plantation life.
- See the Blog for More
0 Comments