Barbados Sugar-Boiling Kettles

Boiling Down Sugar




The Sweet Economy: Barbados Sugar Production. Barbados, typically called the "Gem of the Caribbean," owes much of its historic prominence to one commodity: sugar. This golden crop changed the island from a small colonial station into a powerhouse of the international economy throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. Yet, the sweet success of sugar was built on a structure of shackled labour, a truth that casts a shadow over its tradition.



The Dangerous Labour Behind Sugar

In the glory of Barbados' sun-soaked shores and dynamic greenery lies a darker tale of durability and challenge-- the unsafe labour behind its once-thriving sugar economy. Central to this story is the big cast iron boiling pots, essential tools in the sugar production procedure, but also harrowing signs of the gruelling conditions dealt with by enslaved Africans.

The Boiling Process: A Grueling Job

Sugar production in the days of colonial slavery was  a highly dangerous procedure. After harvesting and crushing the sugarcane, its juice was boiled in enormous cast iron kettles till it took shape as sugar. These pots, often organized in a series called a"" train"" were heated by blazing fires that enslaved Africans needed to stir continually. The heat was suffocating, the flames unforgiving and the work unrelenting. Enslaved employees withstood long hours, often standing close to the inferno, running the risk of burns and fatigue. Splashes of the boiling liquid were not uncommon and might cause extreme, even fatal, injuries.




Today, the big cast iron boiling pots points out this agonizing past. Spread throughout gardens, museums, and historical sites in Barbados, they stand as silent witnesses to the lives they touched. These relics encourage us to reflect on the human suffering behind the sweetness that once drove global economies.


HISTORICAL RECORDS!


 Abolitionist Accounts Expose Sugar Plantation Horrors
 
Abolitionist works, including James Ramsay's works, expose the ruthless risks oppressed employees dealt with in Caribbean sugar plantations. The boiling house, with its huge open barrels of scalding sugar, ended up being a location of unthinkable suffering and fatal accidents.


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Boiling Down Sweetness