Summary Of Sugar Changed The World By Marina Budhos

Author’s Purpose Essay In the non-fiction book, Sugar Changed the World by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos the author's main purpose is to inform the reader. Throughout the book, the author’s view stays mainly objective, while informing the reader of the history of making, distributing, and consuming sugar. They use facts and quotes from reliable sources and people to support their information and inform the reader on how much sugar, really did, change the world. In particularly, the authors describe the history of discovering, producing, and using sugar cane throughout the world. The discovery of sugar cane ended an era and led to a more significant role of this sweet spice throughout the world. “... the Persian emperor Darius I invaded India

“In the Age of Sugar, Europeans bought a product made thousands of miles away that was less expensive than the honey from down the road. That was possible only because sugar set people in motion all across the world- millions of them as slaves, in chains; a few in search of their fortunes” (Aronson & Budhos pg 7). The production of sugar was a costly task in human life, time, and money for many plantations across the world. “Apparently, if they (growers) did not get the cane into the boiling vats within forty-eight hours- preferably twenty-four hours- their crop would be ruined. Whether that speed was absolutely necessary, owners insisted on it” (Aronson & Budhos pg 26). “ Thus, sugar drove more than 900,000 people into slavery, across the Atlantic, to Barbados and Jamaica- and these were just two of the sugar islands” (Aronson & Budhos pg 32). At first, sugar was used in religious ceremonies than for rich nobles and lords as a sweetener. “Masters of sugar, the Muslims

Shipping Sugar helped spread this sweet spice to the other countries and parts of the world. “The more sugar was planted, the more mills were built to grind it, the more docks were hammered into place to ship sugar, the more enslaved people were brought from Africa to work on plantations” (Aronson & Budhos pg 32). “After the cane cooled into crystals, it was packed into hogsheads, to be shipped to eager customers” (Aronson & Budhos pg 44). The Spherical Trade was a trade that exchanged sugar for other materials all over the world. “Beekman and merchants like him shipped flour, bread, , corn, salted beef, and wood to the Caribbean. They brought back sugar, rum, molasses, limes, cocoa, and ginger. Simple enough; but this trade up and down the Atlantic coast was part of a much larger world system” (Aronson & Budhos pg 37). “The enslaved people were shipped across the Atlantic to the islands, where they were sold for sugar” (Aronson & Budhos pg 37). The Age of Sugar lead to slavery, poor conditions for workers, and freedom. “Sugar was the product of the slave and the addiction of the poor factory worker- the meeting place of the barbarism of overseers such as Thomas Thistlewood and the rigid new economy. And yet that very reason sugar became the lynchpin of the struggle for freedom” (Aronson & Budhos pg 70). “...in order to