It was otherwise only available to the extremely rich. Although sugar cane would not grow well in most of Europe, it was grown in the Mediterranean area. Columbus brought sugar cane to the New World on his second voyage. Sugar became a major crop in the West Indies and its history was linked intimately with the history of the New World. Black slaves were imported into the New World largely to cultivated sugar cane.
Sugar cane is a complex origin crop.
Several species are probably involved and modern sugar cane cultivars are complex polyploids. The crop is usually reproduced vegetatively. In the U.S., production is highly mechanized, but in most of the world it is not. The process used to isolate sugar from sugar cane is diagrammed on page 275. Sugarcane is cut 22-24 months after planting.