Sweetness and power
Subtitle: the place of sugar in modern history
By: Sidney W. Mintz.
Publisher: Viking
Published: 1985
Place of publication: New York, N.Y
Language: eng
Number of pages: 274
Subjects: Sugar -- Social aspects -- History; Sugar trade -- Social aspects -- History
Description: In thid book the author shows how Europeans and Americans transformed sugar from a rare foreign luxury to a commonplace necessity of modern life, and how it changed the history of capitalism and industry. He discusses the production and consumption of sugar, and reveals how closely interwoven are sugar's origins as a "slave" crop grown in Europe's tropical colonies with its use first as an extravagant luxury for the aristocracy, then as a staple of the diet of the new industrial proletariat. Finally, he considers how sugar has altered work patterns, eating habits, and our diet in modern times.
Notes: Bibliography: p. 215-227.
"Elisabeth Sifton books."
Includes index.