SCHOOL BASED

ASSESSMENT
Caribbean History

Year: 2024

Name of Student: Kimberly Haimraj Paul

Name of School: Saraswati Vidya Niketan

Name of Teacher: Mr. Chandika Persaud

Registration Number: 090100

Student’s Number: 0901000523

Title of study: “What were the circumstances which gave rise to the sugar

revolution in the West Indies in the 17th century and the

consequences?”
 SCHOOL BASED
ASSESSMENT

Caribbean History

Year: 2024

Name of Student: Kimberly Haimraj Paul

Name of School: Saraswati Vidya Niketan

Name of Teacher: Mr. Chandika Persaud

Registration Number: 090100

Student’s Number: 0901000523

Title of study: “What were the circumstances which gave rise to the sugar

revolution in the West Indies in the 17th century and the

consequences?”
 Table of Contents

Acknowledgement.......................................................................................................................................4

Title of study................................................................................................................................................5

Rational........................................................................................................................................................6

The Research Paper.....................................................................................................................................7

Bibliography................................................................................................................................................9

Mark Scheme.............................................................................................................................................10
 Acknowledgement

I'd like to express my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has helped me with my research into

Caribbean history.

My deepest gratitude goes to Mr. Chandika Persaud, my Caribbean History teacher, whose

guidance and interest greatly improved my understanding of this fascinating subject.

I am also grateful to my classmates and colleagues for contributing to the overall enjoyment of

the class by engaging in meaningful discussions, sharing perspectives, and contributing to the overall

enjoyment of the class.

In addition, I'd like to thank the writers and historians whose books and articles have enabled me

to delve into the complexities of Caribbean history with depth and accuracy.

Finally, but not least, I want to thank my family and friends for their constant encouragement,

patience, and understanding throughout my academic journey.

 Title of study

What were the circumstances which gave rise to the sugar revolution in the West Indies in the 17 th

century and the consequences?

 Rational

The goal of this research is to provide insight into the circumstances that led to the sugar revolution in

the West Indies during the 17th century, as well as the consequences of that revolution. The researcher

wants to know what factors contributed to this major shift and how it affected the Caribbean's economic,

social, and political systems. The researcher hopes to learn more about the sugar revolution and why it is

so significant in Caribbean history by conducting this research.

 The Research Paper

During the unstable seventeenth century, an enormous change occurred through both English

and, to a lesser extent, French islands, bringing in an entirely new era in the subject matter of cash crops.

This transformation, characterised by its rapid and far-reaching nature, can appropriately be described

as'revolutionary.' Its significance rivals that of independence, as the sugar revolution caused a complete

transformation of the Lesser Antilles. Beyond just substituting sugar for tobacco as the dominant crop,

this revolution brought in a variety of changes, including a demographic shift from a predominantly

white to a predominantly black population, changes in landholding sizes, and eventually, the West

Indies becoming the declared 'cockpit of Europe.' The sugar revolution's diverse impact covers an almost

endless list of economic, social, and political transformations.

Barbados is an outstanding tiny details of the sugar revolution's significant impact, having

experienced this drastic shift between 1640 and 1650. While other islands experienced a slower and

more gradual transition, each island experienced a'revolution,' covering unexpected changes in economic

structures, social dynamics, and political landscapes.

 The forces which brought about the changes from tobacco to sugar all came together about 1640.

Tobacco the crop on which the economy of the Lesser Antilles was founded, started to decline as a

result of competition from Virginia tobacco. In 1613 John Rolfe had introduced tobacco to Virginia, the

earliest of the North American colonies. A variety imported from Trinidad proved very satisfactory. By

1627 Virginia was able to ship nearly 500 000 lbs. (226 800 kg) of tobacco to England in one year. In

1628 the total for St Kitts and Barbados was only 100 000 lbs. (43 360 kg). Virginia not only had the

advantage of size, enabling individual plots to be of about 50 acres (20 ha) compared with about 10

acres (4 ha) in the West Indies, but also of quality. As the demand for tobacco in England increased,

Virginia was able to meet it easily, but the demand for West Indian tobacco fell because expansion of

output was not so rapid, and the quality was inferior. Competition also came from the Dutch trading

tobacco at Araya in Venezuela, and later at Curacao. Consequently, the price of West Indian tobacco

fell, and many small farmers went out of production. Sugar came along at the right time to take the place

of tobacco.

As the colonisation of India and the Far East progressed, the growing popularity of coffee and

tea in Europe increased the demand for sugar as a sweetener. Although Northern Europe had survived

without sugar prior to tropical land colonisation, the favourable climate of the West Indian islands made

them ideal locations for sugar cultivation. The transatlantic voyage made these islands available to the

European market, a less difficult journey than that undertaken by coffee, tea, and spice traders.
 Large estates were required for economically viable sugar cultivation, encouraging an increase in

landholdings and the combining of previous smallholdings into expansive estates owned by wealthy

planters or partnerships. The sugar revolution caused a dramatic increase in land prices, which in some

areas of Barbados reached up to thirty times the previous value. Furthermore, the revolution altered the

composition and size of the island populations. As smallholders and indentured servants were replaced

by a smaller structure of wealthy landowners employing white servants alongside an expanding black

labour force comprised of imported slaves, the white demographic reduced.

In the English islands the sugar revolution ked to monoculture, the concentration on the

cultivation of a single crop. This was a dangerous foundation of their economies, would eventually lead

to much distress. Under the Old Colonial System the islands were given a guaranteed market in England.

Free trade was not an issue during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. As the profit that could be

made from sugar during the early years of the revolution was so high, planters in Barbados and the

Leeward Islands could think of very little else. Before the sugar revolution, society was 90% free; after

it, society was 90% slave. "Free" meant "white," and "slave" meant "black." Domestic, artisan, factory,

and field were the most common social divisions among aves. Divisions could not be based on

economies because slaves were not allowed to own property; on academic achievement because

education was denied to slaves; or on tribes or families because slave owners deliberately attempted to

destroy family ties and tribal identity. The sugar revolution was also responsible for the introduction of

procrastination into West Indian culture. Sugar profits were so high in the seventeenth and early

eighteenth centuries that many of the wealthier planters were able to return to England, set up residence,

and live off the proceeds of their West Indian estates.

 Bibliography
 Dyde Brian, Greenwood Robert, Hamber Shirley. “American to Africans”

 Higman, B. W. “Aconcise history of the Caribbean. ” Cambridge University Press, 13 Dec 2010.

 Ligon, Ricard. “A True and Exact History of Barbados.” Hackett Publishing, 11 Mar 2011.

 Williams, Eric. “Capitalism and Slavery.” Lulu Press, Inc, 17 Sep 201
Mark Scheme