Sugar and spice and everything nice…
This popular adage has been uttered so many times that few would pause to question its veracity. And why should we? After all, most of us see and use sugar every day. Sugar’s lure begins in childhood with the tale of Hansel and Gretel and a whole house made of gingerbread and sugar’s pull continues into adulthood. By the time we leave for work, tens of millions of Americans have spooned this sweet powder into their morning coffee and tea.
But the story of sugar is anything but ordinary. Nor is it as innocent as these white crystals may seem. The story of sugar is thousands of years in the making and spans four continents. It is a tale of conquest and power, of exploitation and profit. Sugar fueled colonization of the New World; it also helped to entrench slavery on our shores. While most of us think of sugar as sweetener, sugar cane has also been used as a staple, a spice, and a medicine. Sugar has been both a delicacy and a currency, both a practical necessity and a status symbol.
The tale of sugar is also a tale of fortitude and innovation, one that is recreated and reshaped by the thousands of hardworking Lousianians who continue to manufacture sugar cane today. Perhaps more than any other single crop, sugar has shaped the history of our state. Sugar continues to play a vital role in our state’s economy.
This is the story of sugar.
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