InsideBryce

The Bitter Side of Sweet The Sweet Harvest: Barbados Sugar Economy. Barbados, typically called the "Gem of the Caribbean," owes much of its historic prominence to one product: sugar. This golden crop transformed the island from a small colonial station into a powerhouse of the international economy during the 17th and 18th centuries. Yet, the sweet success of sugar was built on a structure of oppressed labour, a truth that casts a shadow over its tradition. The Boiling Process: A Lealthal Job Making sugar in the days of colonial slavery was  a perilous process. After gathering and squashing the sugarcane, its juice was boiled in enormous cast iron kettles until it crystallized into sugar. These pots, typically set up in a series called a"" train"" were heated by blazing fires that workers had to stoke continually. The heat was extreme, and the work unrelenting. Enslaved workers endured long hours, frequently standing close to the inferno, running the ris...