Barbados Sugar’s Unseen History\ Sugar Iron and Fire
The Dark Side of Sugar Barbados Sugar Wealth. Sugarcane growing started in Barbados in the early 1640s, when Dutch merchants introduced sugar production. By the mid-17th century, Barbados had become one of the most affluent colonies in the British Empire, making the nickname "Little England." But all was not sweetness in the land of Sugar as we discover next: Boiling Sugar: A Grueling Job Sugar production in the 17th and 18th centuries was a perilous process. After gathering and crushing the sugarcane, its juice was boiled in enormous cast iron kettles up until it turned into sugar. These pots, often organized in a series called a"" train"" were warmed by blazing fires that workers had to stoke continually. The heat was extreme, , and the work unrelenting. Enslaved employees endured long hours, typically standing near to the inferno, risking burns and fatigue. Splashes of the boiling liquid were not uncommon and might trigger extreme...