Sugar was important in the Industrial Revolution because it encouraged more productive sugar factories, fueled factory labor, and contributed to the shift to a "free" trade system. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, sugar was produced by colonial plantations utilizing coerced labor (slavery). Though slaves were not paid, the costs of sugar production kept prices high, making sugar a luxury good inaccessible to common people. Following the Industrial Revolution, factories with better technologies created highly productive sugar plantations, increasing the supply of sugar. With the adoption of free trade and thus the economic theory of fluctuating markets, sugar was sold at lower prices to accommodate the higher supply. Commoners could now afford