How Sugar is Made

The History

Cane sugar was first used by man in Polynesia.

In 510 BC the Emperor Darius of Persia invaded India where he found "the reed which gives honey without bees".

The secret of cane sugar, as with many other of man's discoveries, was kept a closely guarded secret whilst the finished product was exported for a rich profit.

The major expansion of the Arab peoples in the 7th century AD that led to a breaking of the secret.

Sugar was only discovered by western Europeans as a result of the Crusades in the 11th Century AD.

Crusaders returning home talked of this "new spice" and how pleasant it was.

The first sugar was recorded in England in 1099.

Sugar was available in London at "two shillings a pound" in 1319 AD. This equates to about $100 US per kilo at today's prices so it was very much a luxury.

In the 15th century, European sugar was refined in Venice, confirmation that even then when quantities were small, it was difficult to transport sugar as a food grade product.

In1493, Columbus took sugar cane to the "New World“ to grow in the Caribbean. The climate there was so advantageous for the growth of the cane that an industry was quickly established.

While sugar was available in Europe, and England, it was extremely expensive.  There was certainly no large consumption of sugar in the 1400's.

But, what Columbus able to do was to open the slave trade by landing in the Caribbean islands, where they cultivated and grew sugar taken from the American Indians. 

Sugar became available in large quantities and became extremely cheap.

Sugar is probably the very dramatic change in the health of European society -- towards the "modern diseases" that did not exist prior to the introduction of cheap sugar in England and Europe. 

The sugar was relatively cheap in 1500, got cheaper, and even by 1750 it was "expensive" but nothing close to what it had been previously.

Even though it would be most efficient to refine the large mass of cane in the area where it was grown, these Europeans brought the cane back to England where it was refined.  They did NOT want the slaves, or other Islanders to learn skills that could lead them toward freedom and independence.

ADDICTION?

ad·dic·tion/əˈdikSHən/nounnoun: addiction; plural noun:

addictions1. the fact or condition of being addicted

to a particular substance, thing, or activity.

Sugar is 'addictive and the most dangerous drug of the times'

Paul van der Velpen, the head of Amsterdam's health service, the Dutch capital city where the sale of cannabis is legalized, wants to see sugar tightly regulated.

"Just like alcohol and tobacco, sugar is actually a drug.