Sweetness and Power by Sidney Mintz Study Questions 1 How ha

Sweetness and Power by Sidney Mintz Study Questions

1) How has refined sugar become a symbol of the modern and the idnustrial? 2) How does the process of sugar\'s spread parallel the spread of western capitalism and Europena imperialism? 3) What is the cultural implication of the spread of sugar?

Solution

work on sugar, Sweetness and Power, situates it within Western history because it was an old commodity,

basic to the emergence of a global market. The first time I was in the field I\'d been surrounded by it, as I did my

fieldwork. That led me to try to trace it backward in time, to learn about its becoming domesticated, and how it

spread and gained importance in the growing Western industrial world. I became awed by the power of a single

taste, and the concentration of brains, energy, wealth and -- most of all, power -- that had led to its being supplied

to so many, in such stunningly large quantities, and at so terrible a cost in life and suffering.

Planters later began developing ways to boost production even more. For example, they began using

more manure when growing their crops. They also developed more advanced mills and began using better types of

sugarcane. In the eighteenth century \"the French colonies were the most successful, especially Saint-Domingue,

where better irrigation, water-power and machinery, together with concentration on newer types of sugar, increased

profits.\" Despite these and other improvements, the price of sugar reached soaring heights, especially during

events such as the revolt against the Dutch and the Napoleonic Wars. Sugar remained in high demand, and the

islands\' planters knew exactly how to take advantage of the situation.