CHRIST CHURCH SECONDARY

Caribbean History SBA

Name: Salaomi Bernard

Acknowledgement.................................................................................................................................................2
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................................3
Rationale................................................................................................................................................................5
RESEARCH PAPER...................................................................................................................................................6
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................................8
Bibliography...........................................................................................................................................................9
Appendix..............................................................................................................................................................11

2
 Acknowledgement

The researcher would like to acknowledge her mother for emotional support, as well as her

teacher, MS Alleyne, for her patience and guidance in finishing this SBA.

3
 Introduction

The researcher asks the question did the exploration of the Portuguese colony lead to the

introduction of sugar in the West Indies in the 16- 17th century?

In accordance with Sarah Parker's statement, "The Portuguese colony in Brazil was instrumental in the
introduction of sugar cultivation to the West Indies in the 16th century, marking the beginning of an
era of economic expansion and growth in the region,"1 the main objective of this research is to
demonstrate that the presence of the Portuguese colony in the West Indies did, in fact, assist in the
emergence of the sugar revolution in the 17th century. The Portuguese took the initiative to produce
sugar cane on a small scale in Madeira, which resulted in the allocation of sugar cane in the Caribbean.
They later colonized and traded enormous amounts of sugar cane in the Brazilian coastal regions in
response to the colony's expansion, which made sugar in the Caribbean more easily accessible. Last
but not least, the founding of the Portuguese colony in Brazil piqued the interest of competitor
colonies, with implications that ultimately expanded the knowledge of sugar within the Caribbean.

The earliest mention of Madeiran sugar goes back to 1433, and it was being produced in significant
quantities for shipment two decades later. Sugar was first supplied directly to Flanders, the principal
distribution centre, in 1472, establishing Madeira as an important axis in economic interactions
between Portugal and Flanders2. In the second part of the 16th century, Portuguese colonies such as
Brazil and So Tomé began producing sugar cane from Madeira stalks. These outputs were in lesser
amounts and at a cheaper cost, delaying Madeira's sugar production. The Dutch had their sights set on
Salvador de Bahia of all saints in 1621. In December 1623, the expedition to conquer Salvador began
and ended on 28 January 1654.3

The British acquired control in 1796 and kept it thereafter, continuing to produce sugar. Although
Captain Henry Powell introduced sugar from Guyana shortly after the first settlers arrived in Barbados,
the skills for cultivating and processing sugar as a commercial operation were imported by Barbadians
from the immigrant Dutch in Brazil.4 The presence of the Portuguese colony in the West Indies
assisted in the emergence of the sugar revolution during the 16-17th century.

1
Parker, Sarah. "The Legacy of Sugar in the Caribbean." University of the West Indies Press, 2009,
p. 34
2
. “The introduction of the sugar trade turned Funchal into a popular stopover for European trade
routes.”
“Madeira Ruled the Sugar Trade.” Portuguese Historical Museum, 10 Apr. 2019,
https://portuguesemuseum.org/?page_id=1808&category=&exhibit=24&event=184

3
Dutra, A. Francis. "Dutch in Colonial Brazil ." Encyclopedia of Latin American History and

Culture. Encyclopedia.com <https://www.encyclopedia.com>. Accessed June 23 207.

4
“Although sugar had been brought from Guyana by Captain Henry Powell shortly after the first
settlers arrived on Barbados, the techniques for growing and processing sugar as a commercial
enterprise were imported by the Barbadians from the Dutch in Brazil.”
"The Introduction of Sugar" kings collection: Online exhibitions, Library and Collections.
https://kingscollections.org/exhibitions/specialcollections/caribbean/sugar/sugarcane
Accessed June 22, 2022
4
 Rationale

The researcher posed the question “Did the exploration of the Portuguese colony leads to the

introduction of sugar in the West Indies in the 16- 17 th century?”. After additional reading, it was

discovered that the existence of the Portuguese colony in the West Indies aided the formation of the

sugar revolution between the 16th and 17th centuries. This was due to their initiative of producing

sugar on a local scale in Madeira and the extension towards the coast of Brazil, which resulted in the

transfer of sugar cultivation techniques to the Dutch colony, who then further extended this expertise.

The study of this historical event provides a unique lens through which the researcher can examine the

interconnectedness of cultures and the spread of knowledge and technology across the world. This

research paper serves as a testament to the power of exploration, trade, and exchange, and the profound

impact they can have on shaping the modern world we live in today.

5
 RESEARCH PAPER

Did the exploration of the Portuguese colony lead to the introduction of Sugar in the west

Indies in the 16- 17th century?

The Portuguese took an initiative on a small-scale sugar cane production in Madeira in the

European markets which attracted various voyagers and tradesmen and lead to distribution. 5 The first

direct export of sugar to the primary distribution hub at Madeira, Flanders, started in 1472. 6 Due to its

high value at the time, this sugar cane was already very sought-after in the European Court, which

helped to increase the demand for sugar. On their subsequent journeys, they distributed this sugar.

Christopher Columbus' conversation with some sugarcane plants on his voyage to the Caribbean serves

as an illustration of this. 7

The Portuguese drive for exploration and expansion led them to colonize and trade vast

quantities of sugar cane in the coastal regions of Brazil making sugar in the Caribbean more

accessible.8 Around 1530, sugar cane was brought to Northeastern Brazil, which served as the catalyst

for the nation's colonization. The Donatarios from Sao Vicente and Pernambuco started the first

commercial production of sugar. After 1550, expansion picked up speed. Following 1580, the sugar

industry grew even more significantly. Exports surpassed 14,000 tons by 1612, and by the 1640s,

Pernambuco alone was exporting almost 24,000 tons. 9

The establishment of the Portuguese colony in Brazil stimulated the interest of other colonies,

with effects that subsequently influenced the export of sugar to the Caribbean. One of the first colonies

being the Dutch colony. One of them in particular is the Dutch colony. They took Recife in

5
“Sugar cane was imported from Sicily and quickly altered the landscape. Due to Madeira’s location, climate,
and soil, it became a highly profitable industry that in turn helped European colonization and expansion. The
production of sugar cane attracted adventurers and merchants from all parts of Europe, especially Italians,
Basques, Catalans, and Flemish.”
“Madeira Ruled the Sugar Trade.” Portuguese Historical Museum, 10 Apr. 2019,
https://portuguesemuseum.org/?page_id=1808&amp;category=&amp;exhibit=24&amp;event=184

6
“The production of sugar cane attracted adventurers and merchants from all parts of Europe, especially
Italians, Basques, Catalans, and Flemish.” “Madeira Ruled the Sugar Trade.” Portuguese Historical
Museum,10Apr.2019, https://portuguesemuseum.org/?page_id=1808&category=&exhibit=24&event=184.

7
“The popularity of Madeira attracted explorers like Christopher Columbus to the island in 1478. He married
the daughter of a plantation owner on Porto Santo and took some sugar cane plants with him on his voyage to
the Caribbean.”
“Madeira Ruled the Sugar Trade.” Portuguese Historical Museum, 10 Apr. 2019,
https://portuguesemuseum.org/?page_id=1808&amp;category=&amp;exhibit=24&amp;event=184
8
Pereira, M. (2016). The Portuguese Empire: A Global History. London: Bloomsbury. pp. 78-81)
9
Martins, Felipe. "The Growth of the Sugar Industry in Brazil: A Study in Economic Expansion."
Economic History Review, vol. 68, no. 2, 2015, p. 308

6
Pernambuco in what is now Brazil in 1630, and this land featured some sugar fields run by earlier

imported African slaves. The Portuguese would have driven the Dutch out of Brazil after 1654. The

plantation owners migrated to English-controlled Barbados, Guiana and other parts of the Caribbean.

The Dutch colony then went on to export the sugar plant techniques, Plantation models to English and

French colonies in the Caribbean. Guiana's coast was accessible to settlers in 1656 after the Dutch

colony brought the sugar revolution to Guiana. The English colony of Suriname, to the east, surpassed

one of the Guiana forts, and it was taken by the Dutch in February 1667. Therefore, the Dutch

continued to impart their knowledge of the dynamics of sugar production to Barbados. Consequently,

making Barbados the sugar capital of the Caribbean.

Initially, the Madeira sugar market only extended as far as Europe. Madeira outproduced its nearest

competitor by a ratio of 1:6 in 150010. Between 1505 and 1509, around 2,000 tons of sugar moved from

Funchal, Madeira's capital, to Lisbon, Antwerp, Genoa, and many other locations. The allotment of the

Portuguese territory and the construction of sugar plantations in Brazil led to an increase in exports of

more than 15,000 tons. With an estimated 10,000 in total export revenue, this equates to €8 in exports

per capita.11 Over 29380 tons of sugar were exported per year during their peak in Brazil's sugar age,

around 1650.12 For instance, in Guyana on the Pomeroon River in Essequibo, four plantations were

constructed under the control of the Dutch West Indian Company. Later, the provinces of Demerara

and Berbice were founded. Although sugar was initially planted in colonial Guyana in 1658, it wasn't

extensively cultivated until the late 1700s 13. By 1759, there were 200 plantations on the East Bank of

the Essequibo River and 120 along the Demerara River. The Dutch had their largest production in

1778 with 4 152 tons. When the plantations were eventually surrendered to the British colony, the

10
Moore, Jason W. “Madeira, Sugar, and the Conquest of Nature in the ‘First’ Sixteenth Century: Part
I: From ‘Island of Timber’ to Sugar Revolution, 1420–1506.” Review (Fernand Braudel Center), vol.
32, no. 4, 2009, pp. 345–90. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41427474. Accessed 27 Oct. 2022
11
“According to available data Brazilian sugar exports surpassed 15,000 tons 18; 261. The price in
England at the time was £113. Total export earnings to Brazil were probably only half of the
£1,695,000 generated, but even this divided among a population (free and slave, but excluding Indians)
of about 100,000 yields exports per capita of about £8.”
Edel, Matthew. “The Brazilian Sugar Cycle of the Seventeenth Century and the Rise of West Indian
Competition.” Caribbean Studies, vol. 9, no. 1, 1969, pp. 24–44. JSTOR,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/25612106. Accessed 29 Jan. 2023.
12
“At the peak of Brazil's sugar era, about 1650, annual exports of sugar amounted to over two million
arrobas”
Taylor, Kit Sims. “The Economics of Sugar and Slavery in Northeastern Brazil.” Agricultural History,
vol. 44, no. 3, 1970, pp. 267–80. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3741454. Accessed 27 Oct. 2022.
13
“Sugar was first grown in colonial Guyana in 1658 but was not produced on a large scale until the
late 1700s”
“Guyana - History of The Economy" Country Studies us. US Library of Congress.
http://countrystudies.us/guyana/54.htm. Accessed June 22 2022
7
sugar industry developed to the extent that the colonies produced 12 214 tons of sugar 10 years later,

and there were an estimated 380 sugar estates along the coast. Guyana had almost 400 plantations by

the early nineteenth century. In 1967, total sugar production included 343 922 tons (this compares with

the 1950 figure of 195 652 tons and the 1975 figure of 300 350 tons).

Conclusion

8
 The Portuguese colony within the West Indies had an influence in the 17 Century Sugar

revolution. Due to the direct distribution of the Flanders in Madeira, there was Sugar to a result

development of Sugar plantations in the North-East of Brazil by explorers. The Dutch Colony Seized

said part of brazil and later introduced & Sugar to the English and French colonies. If the Portuguese

colony had not been established in Brazil, this introduction would not have been able to start a domino

effect of information and awareness about the production of sugar cane throughout the Caribbean. The

extension of sugar production by the Portuguese colony in Brazil contributed to the emergence of the

sugar revolution.

Bibliography

9
1. Higman, B.W. "The Sugar Revolution" The Economic History Review. Vol.53.Pp 213-36. June

29, 2022

2. Kanarick, Taylor. Y. "Caribbean History for CSEC" Caribbean Educational Publishers, 2008.

3. Pereira, M. (2016). “The Portuguese Empire: A Global History”. London: Bloomsbury. pp. 78-

81

4. Parker, Sarah. "The Legacy of Sugar in the Caribbean." University of the West Indies Press,

2009, pp. 34

5. Martins, Felipe. "The Growth of the Sugar Industry in Brazil: A Study in Economic

Expansion." Economic History Review, vol. 68, no. 2, 2015, p. 308

6. Edel, Matthew. “The Brazilian Sugar Cycle of the Seventeenth Century and the Rise of West

Indian Competition.” Caribbean Studies, vol. 9, no. 1, 1969, pp. 24–44. JSTOR,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/25612106. Accessed 17 Sep. 2022.

7. Moore, Jason W. “Madeira, Sugar, and the Conquest of Nature in the ‘First’ Sixteenth

Century: Part I: From ‘Island of Timber’ to Sugar Revolution, 1420–1506.” Review (Fernand

Braudel Center), vol. 32, no. 4, 2009, pp. 345–90. JSTOR,

http://www.jstor.org/stable/41427474. Accessed 27 Oct. 2022.

8. Taylor, Kit Sims. “The Economics of Sugar and Slavery in Northeastern Brazil.” Agricultural

History, vol. 44, no. 3, 1970, pp. 267–80. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3741454

. Accessed 29 Jan. 2023.

9. Davide. “Madeira Ruled the Sugar Trade.” Portuguese Historical Museum, 10 Apr. 2019,

https://portuguesemuseum.org/?

page_id=1808&amp;category=&amp;exhibit=24&amp;event=184.

10. Dutra, A. Francis. "Dutch in Colonial Brazil ." Encyclopedia of Latin American History and

Culture. Encyclopedia.com <https://www.encyclopedia.com>. Accessed June 23 207.

11. "Guyana - History of The Economy" Country Studies us. US Library of Congress.

http://countrystudies.us/guyana/54.htm . Accessed June 22 2022

12. "The Introduction of Sugar" kings collection: Online exhibitions, Library and

Collections.https://kingscollections.org/exhibitions/specialcollections/caribbean/sugar/

sugarcane Accessed June 22, 2022

13. "Sugar, Honey and Rum" MaderiaWeb. Madeira Sugar, honey and rum production (Madeira-

web.com).Accessed June 26-2022-

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 Appendix

Fig. 1. Administrative Map of the Portuguese Island of Madeira with Flag.

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Figure. 2. Sugar Plantation in Madeira, https://blog.madeira.best/sugar-cane-and-madeira-island

Accessed 25 Oct. 2022.

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Figure. 3. Map of the northeast of Brazil , https://www.tobymarthews.com/cssp-brazil.html

Accessed 25 Oct. 2022

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Figure. 4. Map of the Dutch and Portuguese colonies in Brazil,

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