The Iron Kettles of Sugar

Boiling Down Sugar: The Iron Heart of Barbados' Sugar




The Rise of Barbados Sugar Wealth. Sugarcane cultivation began in Barbados in the early 1640s, when the Dutch introduced sugar cane harvesting. The island's soil and favourable climate made it an ideal location for harvesting sugar. By the mid-17th century, Barbados had become one of the wealthiest colonies in the British Empire, earning the nickname "Little England."By the mid-17th century, Barbados had become one of the most affluent colonies in the British Empire, earning the label "Little England." But all was not sweetness in the land of Sugar as we discover next:



The Boiling Process: A Grueling Task

Making sugar in the 17th and 18th centuries was  a highly dangerous process. After gathering and crushing the sugarcane, its juice was boiled in huge cast iron kettles until it turned into sugar. These pots, often set up in a series called a"" train"" were heated by blazing fires that workers needed to stoke constantly. The heat was suffocating, the flames unforgiving and the work unrelenting. Enslaved employees sustained long hours, often standing near to the inferno, running the risk of burns and exhaustion. Splashes of the boiling liquid were not uncommon and might trigger extreme, even fatal, injuries.

A Life of Peril

The threats were ever present for the enslaved Africans tasked with tending these kettles. They worked in sweltering heat, inhaling dangerous gases from the burning fuel. The work required extreme effort and accuracy; a minute of negligence could lead to accidents. Despite these difficulties, oppressed Africans brought impressive skill and resourcefulness to the procedure, guaranteeing the quality of the end product. This product fueled economies far beyond Barbados" coasts.


Now, the large cast iron boiling pots function as suggestions of this uncomfortable past. Spread across gardens, museums, and archaeological sites in Barbados, they stand as silent witnesses to the lives they touched. These relics motivate us to review the human suffering behind the sweetness that when drove worldwide economies.


HISTORICAL RECORDS!


Abolitionist literature on The Threats of the Boiling Trains

Abolitionist literature, consisting of James Ramsay's works, details the horrific risks faced by enslaved employees in sugar plantations. The boiling home, with its dangerously hot barrels, was a deadly office where exhaustion and severe heat resulted in tragic mishaps.

Sweet Taste Forged in Fire: The Sugar-Boiling Legacy - Check the Blog for Details

The Iron Kettles of Sugar