Trailing the History of Sugar - Essay Example

Commodity Paper on Sugar Sugar cane has been an elusive yet a crucial plant in history. The chronicles of the plant accounts much about the memoirs of the past ages that sugar cane is written on records of legendary historians dating back to as early as the days of Herodotus. To tell the story of the plant is to detail the era when crusades and voyages are essential activities for political power and expansion of colonies signifies strength and supremacy. Narratives of the plant confirm the stories told about world history on colonization, barter, and territorial expansions as it has transcended geographical boundaries through the campaigns of then reigning political authorities. Trailing the history of sugar cane and its uses could be seen as co-terminus with tracking the history of the world because of the undeniable significance of the plant in the past both just in simple consumption to subjugation of discovered protectorates. Probably the most vital contribution of understanding the origins of the plant in world history is recounting the suppression of Africans who became slaves in the pursuit of supplying the needs for the plant's products. Sugar cane has been known for at least 2200 years dating back from the rise of Alexander the Greta when his army saw the plant during the conquest of India in 326 BC (Purseglove, 1979). The discovery of Arabs and Greeks on the potential of sugar cane juices to substitute to the popularly used honey was a turning point to the spread of the plant. Western expansion of Arabs in the 7th and 8th centuries marked the introduction of sugar in Europe and the West (Heiser, 1981). It is a sub-tropical and tropical plant that grows well on spots with robust supply of sunlight and water - so long as the plant's roots are not waterlogged (Deerr, 1949). Purgloves (1979) accounts that sugar cane was originally grown for the sole purpose of chewing in vast territories of Asia and the Pacific. The rind was removed and the internal tissues sucked or chewed to extract the sugar and juice contents on it. According to the account, production of sweet products of the plant by boiling the cane juice was first discovered in India, most likely during the first millennium BC. It is in the purpose of this paper that sugar yield would characterize the sugar cane products to focus on the economics of the commodity on which the plant has been primarily known and used due to its properties to produce a sweet substance in whatever form. Processing of sugar canes whether following the old procedures or the present modern technique starts with harvesting. Harvesting of the sugar cane is done through chopping down the stems. Where possible the cane is fired before harvesting to remove the dead leaf material and some of the waxy coating. The fire burns at quite high temperatures but is monitored to last only for a short period so that the cane and its sugar are not harmed (www.food-info.net). Harvesting is done by hand during the earlier days but has been done with machine beginning 18th century. First stage of processing is the extraction of cane juice. Boiling was the main extraction procedure during the 15th century (Purseglove, 1979). With the upgrade of processes before the 19th century, extraction of sugar cane juice included the removal of excess water through the use of machines and cleaning up the juice with slaked lime (www.sucrose.com). As with the traditional way, evaporation comes next in the process by thickening up the juice in the syrup by removing the water through boiling. In earlier years, leaving it as syrup or drying up the water under the sun or through steaming and having unrefined crystals would have sufficed and the process of producing the end product would have ended (Heiser, 1981). With the advent of machines, even the simple traditional ones, crystallization takes place through painstaking procedures of boiling. After making the product fit for storage, affination comes next to continuously refine the end product characterized to be primarily as sweetener. The end product is then used in food, drinks and way back also as medicine and crude (home.wlu.edu). Sugar cane has made its way into the written accounts of various historians due to its role in the voyages and crusades of expeditions several centuries ago. During the rule of the Arabs, sugar cane has been spread to myriad territories which in history marked to be best known for the domination of the product on Europe and in West Indies on the 15th century. Trade has been undertaken though defeats of territorial defenses (Deerr, 1949). According to historical accounts, the journey of the plant paved its way in the midst of continuous power grabbing from reigning colonizers. Because of the perception of a certain value for sugar cane products way back in the 15th century, conquered lands are used for the propagation of the crops. Production of sugar then was still a primitive process (www.chewingcane.com). A blindfolded mule or ox treading in a circle drove a vertical grinding mill or a pestle in a mortar to crush the cane, and the juice was evaporated by boiling to a sticky mixture of crystals and syrup as discussed in this paper earlier. Sugar has been even used as a major medicine for a certain period of time. Because of its value, lands of subjugated territories have been eyed to be center of production where capitalization on land depended much on the availability of resources of the undermined subordinates. For quite some time in the start of the 15th century, the value of sugar cane products have been overwhelming. Products were priced to be highly valuable that even monarchs were recorded to have cravings for the food commodity end products. Much of trade by then is dependent largely on the power of the superior authorities to impose conditions such as lower prices especially for the sugar when bought on the subordinate territories (Purseglove, 1979). In terms of investments in labor, the advent of the spread of sugar cane products resulted to forced labor considered to be a great form of slavery. It is again a reflection of the use of powers in social activities making economics quite closely related to politics and power. Slavery imposed to the Africans to work on farms of sugar cane countries has been recorded to cause a significant impact on society. It was the time when the products of sugar cane were valued too much and the black race was under fire due to the perception of being a weaker race and lowly creatures. As much as the sugar cane is valued because of its usage in food where spices are valued to be as precious as any other treasures and in energy as well in the case of crude products, the plant is very labor-intensive to care for. According to the narratives of Pursegloves (1979), sugar cane demands were overwhelming making the plant a rarity. Because the production of sugar was intended to be capitalized with the minimum resources, cheap labor was seen to answer for the problem of sugar cane taking too much of labor in processing. The cheap labor was obtained through the use of the strengths of African slaves (www.chewingcane.com). It was very unfortunate that discrimination of the Africans was the expense to propagate a highly valued product. No labor that time was considered as cheap as that of the African slaves. The beginning of the 15th century saw the entry of slaves in the labor market where domination of power rules. Importation of slaves from Africa to the West Indies was undertaken with the approval of a large portion of the ruling and superior classes who are in the authority. It was recorded on historical accounts that the drain on Africa's West Coast was severe, leading to the act of pleading to the authorities in Portugal to stop the slave trade. Backed by the Pope, however, the slave trade continued. Colonies in what would become the United States sold food, lumber, and horses in the West Indies since they would grow nothing but sugar on their plantations. Ships carrying food to the West Indies returned bearing sugar and molasses. Molasses was turned into rum, and carried to Europe and Africa for the purpose of acquiring more slaves (Purseglove, 1979). Though unfortunate the slavery was, economies at that time are evidently in pursuit of the trade theory of comparative advantage. The market finds its way to adjust in the trade of various interdependent countries. In the case of the sugar cane records of history, the countries trade for what has to be considered as the products where they have obtained a comparative advantage in and focus on the production of such output. In turn, they buy their necessities that they do not have from economies with trade advantage on them. This actually is a good economic practice. At the expense though is the lack of remuneration on labor. Since the time was characterized by the surge of powers and the overpowering of weaker territories, the culture of people have been transformed. The weaker territories were the source of the needed commodities and were forced to subjugate to the superior authority. Slavery during the 15th continuing to the 19th century has been a critical social concern. Racism and discrimination was done in pursuit of commodities valued highly during the time where spices equate to treasure. The end of racism was seen only at the start dawn of the 20th century. Culture depended much on power as chronicled on various historical accounts. Trade at least has turned to the utilization of comparative advantage but the capitalization on human labor through slavery was brought into the world culture. It is very evident that the society valued so much certain commodities which enable powers to be used in trade and cultural transformation. References: Deerr, N. (1949). The History of Sugar. Vol. 1. London; Chapman and Hall. Heiser, C. (1981). Seed to Civilization: The Story of Food 2nd ed. San Francisco; W.H. Freeman and Co. Purseglove, J. (1979). Tropical crops: monocotyledons. London; Longman Group Ltd. Web Resources: History of Sugar Cane. Retrieved August 3, 2007 from essortment website http://www.essortment.com. History of Sugar: Domestication in the 17th Century. Retrieved August 3, 2007 from WLU website http://home.wlu.edu. Production of Sugar Cane. Retrieved August 3, 2007 from Food-info website http://www.food-info.net. What is Sugarcane History of Sugar Cane. Retrieved August 3, 2007 from Chewingcane website http://www.chewingcane.com. Read More