Sweet Nexus: Sugar and the origins of the modern world

The format of the reading was the most helpful part. The way that the sugar process was described backwards pained a vivid image of what the sugar trade and exporting system looked like when it first began. The beginning starts off with a reflection of items that we consume explaining how consumers consume the items but have a lack of knowledge of where the item might have originated from. "...we are in a profit-based international market in which people produce what they do not consume, and consume what they do not produce." Which is a true statement, especially American consumers. The background of the origins of sugar was a bit dry but was useful when it came to understanding the evidence that was given in the packet. The various documents that were placed in the packet made you ask yourself why each piece of evidence was significant to the timing of sugar productions in Europe, Americas, and Central America. Without reading and understanding the background or previous knowledge of the origins of sugar you may have a harder time understanding the underlined meanings behind the letters, images, and data tables that were placed in the reading. Evidence pieces such as William Blake, "Europe Supported by Africa and America," 1796, was a complex image, yet easier understood given that the title gave away more than the image did. Looking at the image itself, you can see the nooses around both dark figures as the white female is in the middle being supported by both African slaves. I believe that this image seems to be showing the fact that Europeans were so dependent on African slaves for everything to the point that they stopped all together with even trying to do the most simplest things, such as keeping themselves up. Overall, the hard labor to keep a rare crop such as sugar, was something that the Europeans wanted to trade among others, but weren't willing to put in the work for it, so they were able to get another race to the hard work for them.