Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History

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A fascinating persuasive history of how sugar has shaped the world, from European colonies to our modern diets

In this eye-opening study, Sidney Mintz 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 is 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.

"Like sugar, Mintz is persuasive, and his detailed history is a real treat." -San Francisco Chronicle
  • ISBN10 0140092331
  • ISBN13 9780140092332
  • Publish Date 5 August 1986
  • Publish Status Active
  • Out of Print 14 May 1997
  • Publish Country GB
  • Imprint Penguin Books Ltd