SPECIAL: Sugar Exhibition Sections

SUGAR EXHIBITION:

The Bittersweet Taste of Past and Presen

SECTIONS

Passage to the Island

Sugarcane was introduced to the island of Jamaica by the Spanish. However, it was the transition from Spanish to British rule that saw a significant shift in the sugar industry. The British built large plantations and introduced a vast amount of African enslaved workers to the field, which resulted in the transformation of Jamaica into one of the world’s biggest sugar producers.

Anatomy Of Sugarcane

Sugarcane is classified as a grass. The crop is made up of 3 main components namely the leaves, stem/stalk and root. The leaves grow from the nodes of the plant and help with the photosynthesis process. The stem is the main part of the plant and contains the juices of the plant. Finally, the root system anchors the plant and helps the plant absorb nutrients and water from a wide area.

Plantations Then & Now

In the past (17^th and 18^th century) Jamaican sugar plantations were large and heavily dependent on enslaved African labour. As a result, the island’s culture, economy and social structure were shaped by the sugar industry. Fast forward to the present and we see sugar production has had a significant decline. Labour practices have evolved with manufacturers leaning towards mechanized ways of production and labour rights being improved. Though sugarcane is still included in Jamaica’s agricultural sector, its economic dominance has drastically diminished and other industries have taken precedence.

Life of an Enslaved Worker

Enslaved workers endured long hours of arduous labour under harsh supervision. Living conditions were often overcrowded, access to food was inadequate, clothing was minimal and medical care was poor. Punishment was in abundance for perceived infractions and resistance, often very severe and was not limited to physical abuse. Separation of the family was a common practice due to factors such as sale or transfers. Naturally, due to the harsh treatment by the masters, the enslaved often resisted through various forms of uprisings ranging from subtle to outright destruction.

Tools

Jamaican sugar estates of the past utilized various hand tools during the cultivation and production processes. Machetes, and billhooks (billy) were essential cutting tools, boiling houses used large copper kettles for boiling the cane juice while sugar molds, made of clay, would have been used for drying the wet sugar and draining out the molasses.

By-products, Process and Manufacture

Sugarcane produces several by-products. Aside from rum, the most popular by-product apart from sugar, sugarcane also produces molasses, bagasse and filter mud which is used as fertilizer. Other lesser known by-products include straws, diapers and sanitizer.

Nutrition

Sugar found in sugarcane provides a quick energy source. However, sugarcane contains small doses of other nutrients such as, calcium, magnesium, and potassium. Though sugarcane has positive aspects it should be consumed in moderation due to its high level of natural sugars.