-
Jan 1, 1493
Christopher Columbus
A Spanish sailor known as Christopher Columbus was carrying sugar cane plants from the Azores and Canary Islands. In the early 1400's Spanish and Portuguese were contending to explore the African coast and find trade routes to Asia. This caused a lot of rivalry between the two countries. Columbus brought "white gold" sugar to these islands to he would know these islands very well. (Page 29) -
"Chaw"
Mr. Wickham, first introduces tea to Europe. The only people who knew about tea, or "chaw" as he called it, were people who went over sea such as merchants or people who worked in India, China, or Japan. The Europeans developed a fondness of the beverage and it became a well know drink in the country. Because of the bitter taste of tea, Europe bought thousands of pounds of sugar to sweeten their tea. By 1711 the country was shipping out 200,00 pounds of tea a year to England. (Pages 64-65) -
All Men Are Equal: France
In France, during 1789, the peoples rights of voting were not protected. Finally the National Assembly provided the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen. Thomas Jefferson even came to France to support the new system and government. In France people argued that the slaves are equal but on the other hand, others stated that changing things on the sugar islands would cause slave revolts and many deaths and would harm the country. This could also helps Frances rivals in the war. Page-81 -
Haiti is Free
After slaves fighting English and French armies, the two European heavyweights gave up and the country of Haiti was born. The United States kept a close eye on the Haitians but had there own slavery problems to deal with inside the country. Thomas Jefferson looked to these former slaves as threats to people of America, therefore, it wasn't until Abraham Lincoln's presidency until we tied loose knots with The republic of Haiti. Pages(88-89). -
Slave Trade Illegal
A bill was created to ban slave trade in England and to prohibit all English participation with slave trade. After passing through the House of Commons and the House of Lords, King George the Third singed and approved the law. United States followed in England's footsteps by passing a law the same year banning Americans being involved in deriving slaves. Page(91). -
Hawaii Sugar Plantation
Hawaiian planters brought over Chinese workers that were very little paid but not slaves. The more workers that came the more workers demanded high pay and better working areas. To prevent this from happening, the growers brought in other workers from Japan. Soon the sugar was being imported into the United States with no extra levy. Page(96) -
Saccharine Substance
By 1879, chemists created a substance known as saccharine. It is several hundred times sweeter than ordinary sugar. It is still used in some foods we eat today. It is in high-fructose corn syrup, fructose, and Splenda. The production of this grew 65% from 1854-1899 because of this sweetening substance called saccharine. Page(117) -
Gandhi the Great One
Mohandas K. Gandhi was known as a lawyer when he was given the chance to study law in England. He then practiced in South Africa to fight for the indentured servants. He was a great lawyer who proved that indentured servants and slaves were basically the same. He was hated for trying to help the sugar workers. Pages(118-120). -
Freedom
In the year 1947, India separate from British rule. This got the ball rolling for other freedom leaders like Gandhi such as Martin Luther King J.R., in the fight for civil rights in the United States. (Page 24). -
The Discovery of the Sugar Cane
The sugar cane was first planted on the island of New Guinea just north of Australia. The Persian Empire discovered the sugar cane reeds while invading India in 510 B.C. This slowly made its way around the Asian continent after ending up in Hawaii in 1100 A.D. (Pages 10-11)