Sugar
- William of Tyre, 12th-century crusader
Sugar has played an important role in history as a medicine, a spice, a symbol of royalty and wealth, and an instrument of oppression, addiction, and disease. The quest for sugar and its related commodities—rum, coffee, tea, and chocolate—and the wealth they produced, generated a massive boost to the Atlantic slave trade, increased European colonization of tropical lands, contributed to the Industrial Revolution, and forever altered mankind’s food consumption and nutrition.
Sugar was a luxury for centuries, spawning opulent and elegantly fashioned decorative furnishings for the tables of the wealthy. Savannah merchants imported these wares from
northern cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, and from England, France, China, and other countries, via sailing ships and then steam ships into the Port of Savannah. The tables and display cases in this gallery showcase the finely crafted tea, chocolate, coffee, and dessert services that once belonged to local Savannahians.
Sugar and Slavery
The slave-dealer, the slave-holder, and slave-driver are virtually the agents of the consumer, and may be considered as employed and hired by him to procure the commodity.
-William Fox, parliamentarian and abolitionist, 1791
Between 1650 and 1860, as sugarcane cultivation increased in the West Indies and Americas, as many as 15 million Africans were kidnapped and forced into slavery. These enslaved Africans toiled in the fields and boiling houses, supplying the huge amounts of labor that sugar required, and dying under the rigorous demands of that labor.
In North America, sugarcane was first planted in New Orleans in 1751. After the introduction of sugar refining in 1795, sugar production in Louisiana expanded dramatically. By the 1840s, Louisiana produced one-quarter of the world supply of sugarcane. As the 19th century progressed and the abolition of slavery began to gain momentum in Britain and the United States, one of the tools of the movement was the boycott of slave-grown sugar.
After the Civil War and the abolishment of slavery, a system was devised in the South in which convicts could be leased from states to provide the low-cost, unregulated labor once supplied by slavery. People of color were arrested for minor crimes such as vagrancy or trespassing but then given felony-level sentences. Labor conditions for convict lessees on the sugar plantation resembled those experienced by enslaved workers. Convict leasing was gradually phased out in the early 20th century as public sympathy grew and the call for civil rights increased.
Sugar Production in the
21st Century
The sugar industry of the United States produces sugarcane and sugar beets, operates sugar refineries, and markets refined sugars, sugar-sweetened goods, and other products. Cane sugar is currently grown in Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Hawaii. Beet sugar is grown in 10 states.
Refined sugarcane, processed sugar beet, and high-fructose corn syrup are all commonly used in the United States as added sugars to sweeten food and beverages. Studies increasingly point to sugar overconsumption as a major contributing factor in rising risks for diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and these risks are disproportionately affecting youth, low-income, and minority communities.
Dixie Crystals Sugar in Savannah
In 1916, Benjamin Oxnard and Richard Sprague founded the Savannah Sugar Refining Corporation by moving their entire operation, including more than 400 employees and their families, from their Louisiana refinery to Port Wentworth on the Savannah River. The first refined sugar, sold under the brand name of Dixie Crystals, was produced in 1917, selling at 5 cents a pound. For many years, the importation of raw sugar into Savannah represented the largest single commodity through the port. In 1997 the company was acquired by Imperial Sugar, which sources raw cane sugar from Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
On February 7, 2008, a massive explosion and fire occurred at the refinery, causing 14 deaths and injuring 38 others. The explosion was fueled by accumulations of combustible sugar dust throughout the packaging building. As a result of the disaster, new safety legislation was proposed. The local economy declined while the factory was closed and buildings were redesigned and rebuilt. The plant resumed full operations in November 2009.
In March 2021, U.S. Sugar announced the acquisition of Imperial Sugar Co., combining sugar beet cooperatives with cane sugar production, and continuing Imperial Sugar’s brands sold mainly across the South.