The Early Modern Atlantic Economy Edited by J. McCusker...

On one hand a group of historian argues the notion that Brazil and the Caribbean experienced a sugar revolution while on the other hand another group argues that there was no such thing as a sugar revolution, what Brazil and Caribbean experienced was simply a sugar boom. In order to assess which group of historians is more accurate, one must first understand the concept of a sugar revolution and what factors must be present in order for a sugar revolution to occur. The concept of a sugar revolution is one that states there was a drastic change from the cultivation of tobacco to the cultivating of sugar cane, changing the country`s economy, politics and social structure within a short period of time. According to B.W. Higman there are†¦show more content†¦When sugar cane was introduced those planters who owned small plots of land either had to sell their land, merge their land with another planter and enter into a partnership or buy more land in order to grow sugar cane. Sug ar cane could only be grown on large plots of land which ranged from 150 acres to 500 acres in Barbados and in Jamaica 300 acres to 5000 acres. The type of labour also changed within the Caribbean islands of Barbados, Jamaica, Nevis, Antigua and Montserrat from free labour to slave labour. Tobacco cultivation required a very small labour force, but with sugar as the new cash crop a large labour force was needed in which the Dutch provided by bringing African slaves. Therefore the white populations of these countries declined while the black populations increased due to the sugar revolution. Even though the governments of these Islands made efforts to keep the black-to-white ratio ten to one, according to Greenwood, Robert, Hamber, S, Dyde, Brian ‘ the ratio became extremely difficult to maintain during the years passed’. This population change occurred during the early years of the sugar revolution up to the mid-1700s. In Barbados there were 18 000 whites and 5 500 blacks in 1645 and by 1660 there were 20 000 whites and 30 000 blacks while Jamaica had 4 500 whites and 1 500 blacks in 1658 to 8 500 whites toShow MoreRelatedRethinking Mercantalism Essay15042 Words   |  61 PagesRethinking Mercantilism: Political Economy, the British Empire, and the Atlantic World in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries Author(s): Steve Pincus Reviewed work(s): Source: The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 69, No. 1 (January 2012), pp. 3-34 Published by: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5309/willmaryquar.69.1.0003 . Accessed: 06/09/2012 12:18 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms