Barbados Sugar’s Unseen History\ Sugar Iron and Fire
Sweet Taste Forged in Fire: Barbados Sugar-Boiling Legacy
The Rise of Barbados Sugar Wealth.
Sugarcane growing began in Barbados in the early
1640s, when the Dutch came to
help with sugar cane harvesting. By the
mid-17th century, Barbados had become one of the wealthiest nests in the British
Empire, making the nickname "Little England." But all
was not sweetness in the land of Sugar as we discover next:
The Boiling Process: A Lealthal Task
Sugar
production in the 17th and 18th
centuries was a highly
dangerous procedure. After
harvesting and crushing the
sugarcane, its juice was boiled in huge cast iron
kettles until it turned
into sugar. These pots, often
set up in a series called a"" train"" were
heated by blazing fires that enslaved
Africans had to stoke
constantly. The heat was
extreme, and the work
unrelenting. Enslaved workers sustained
long hours, frequently standing near
to the inferno, running the risk of burns and
exhaustion. Splashes of the boiling liquid were not
unusual and might cause
severe, even fatal, injuries.
The Bitter History of Sugar
The
sugar market's success came at an
extreme human expense. Enslaved workers lived
under harsh conditions, subjected to physical
punishment, bad nutrition, and
unrelenting work. Yet, they
showed remarkable
resilience. Numerous
found ways to maintain their
cultural heritage, giving songs, stories, and
skills that sustained their neighbourhoods
even in the face of unthinkable
challenges.
Acknowledging the Legacy
By
acknowledging the harmful labour of
enslaved Africans, we honour their contributions and sacrifices.
Barbados" sugar industry, built on their backs, formed
the island's history and economy. As we appreciate the
antiques of this age, we need to
also keep in mind the people whose
labour and durability made it
possible. Their story is an essential part of understanding not simply the history of
Barbados however the wider history of
the Caribbean and the international effect
of the sugar trade.
The next time you see kettle in
a peaceful cliffs or museum,
remember that it is more than an ornamental piece. It is a
memory of the hands that laboured, the lives that endured,
and the resilience that continues to
influence.
HISTORICAL RECORDS!
Abolitionist literature on The Dangers of the Boiling Trains
Abolitionist
literature, consisting of James Ramsay's works,
details the horrific dangers
dealt with by enslaved workers in sugar plantations.
The boiling house, with its
dangerously hot vats, was a fatal office where
exhaustion and severe heat led to terrible mishaps.
{
Boiling
Sugar: The Bitter Side of Sweet |The Fatal Side of
Sugar: A History in Iron |Sweetness Forged in Fire:
The Sugar-Boiling Legacy |
Molten Memories: The Iron Kettles of Sugar's Past |
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