Delishtory
How Sugar Conquered The World
Season 4 Episode 4 | 7m 47sVideo has Closed Captions
Sugar is a pantry staple, but for most of human history, it was a rare luxury.
Sugar is a pantry staple, but for most of human history, it was a rare luxury. On its path to global domination, sugar fueled empires and colonialism, and transformed economies around the world. This is the story of how sugar changed the world.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Delishtory is a local public television program presented by WHYY
Delishtory
How Sugar Conquered The World
Season 4 Episode 4 | 7m 47sVideo has Closed Captions
Sugar is a pantry staple, but for most of human history, it was a rare luxury. On its path to global domination, sugar fueled empires and colonialism, and transformed economies around the world. This is the story of how sugar changed the world.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipIt was Napoleon Bonaparte who really kicked the beet industry into high gear.
During the Napoleonic Wars, a British naval blockade cut off France's access to Caribbean sugar cane.
Napoleon invested heavily in beetroot sugar, and by 1813 France had around 340 factories churning out millions of pounds of it.
As the world moved toward the abolition of slavery, and Britain banned the slave trade in 1807, prices for sugar cane became unstable.
Many manufacturers switched to the cheaper, domestic beet sugar.
By 1900, nearly 50% of all internationally traded sugar came from beets.
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Delishtory is a local public television program presented by WHYY