Sugar Production

Definition

Sugar production refers to the process of cultivating sugarcane, extracting its juice, and refining it into sugar. This was a major industry in the colonial era, particularly in the Southern colonies and Caribbean where climate conditions were ideal for sugarcane cultivation.

Related terms

Plantation System: This is a system of large-scale agriculture that was prevalent in the Southern colonies. It involved growing cash crops like tobacco, cotton, and especially sugarcane on vast tracts of land using enslaved labor.

Triangular Trade: This refers to a three-way system of trade during 16th-19th centuries. Europe would send finished goods to Africa, who would send slaves to America, who would then send raw materials like sugar back to Europe.

Slavery: A social-economic system under which certain persons — known as slaves — are deprived of personal freedom and compelled to perform labor or services.