Sugar Trade Dbq

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The sugar trade, which began in the 16th century and lasted until the 19th century, was also considered a “triangle trade" that brought tremendous wealth and power to European colonizers and their respective nations. The trade, which involved the production and transportation of sugar from colonies in the Caribbean and South America to Europe, was driven by several factors, including the growing demand for sugar in Europe, an increase in population, and mercantilism.
One of the primary factors that drove the sugar trade was the growing demand for sugar in Europe. Sugar was considered a luxury item in medieval Europe since it brought the great taste to the people. Everyone craved sugar because it was a sweet-tasting ingredient. Sugar was used …show more content…

That also means that there was an agricultural revolution before and it led up to the sudden increase in population. More land and slave workers meant more crops to be grown and sold, leading to an increase in population. Population growth also increased the demand for sugar. Document 5, “Private Tooth Decay as Economic Virtue” Social Science History, Duke university press, 1990, British Sugar consumption, 1698-1775 shows how the number of sugar imports grew and how much sugar was consumed as the population increased. In the years 1750-1760 the population had a massive increase of almost about 2,000,000 people starting from 6,336,000-8,000,000 and British imports also had a drastic increase starting from 761.5 and then going to 1,102.1. The annual Per Capita consumption (In pounds) also had another increase throughout the years, 1750-1760 was 12.0-13.8. The demand for sugar rose along with the increase in population. Document 7 states, when sugar was first produced it got the interest of Englishmen. Only wealthy people were able to afford sugar until it was able to be mass-produced. This demonstrates that as time goes on, both the population and sugar production will