【简译】糖与种植园制度的兴起
From a humble beginning as a sweet treat grown in gardens, sugar cane cultivation became an economic powerhouse, and the growing demand for sugar stimulated the colonization of the New World by European powers, brought slavery to the forefront, and fostered brutal revolutions and wars.
甘蔗一开始只是种植在花园里的一种甜食，后来糖成为一种经济动力，人们对糖的需求不断增加，刺激了欧洲列强对新大陆的殖民，使奴隶制成为殖民地主流，并因此产生了许多残酷的革命与战争。
The geographic center of sugar cane cultivation shifted gradually across the world over a span of 3,000 years from India to Persia, along the Mediterranean to the islands near the coast of Africa and then the Americas, before shifting back across the globe to Indonesia. A whole new kind of agriculture was invented to produce sugar – the so-called Plantation System. In it, colonists planted large acreages of single crops which could be shipped long distances and sold at a profit in Europe. To maximize the productivity and profitability of these plantations, slaves or indentured servants were imported to maintain and harvest the labor-intensive crops. Sugar cane was the first to be grown in this system, but many others followed including coffee, cotton, cocoa, tobacco, tea, rubber, and most recently oil palm.
在3000年的时间里，甘蔗种植的地理中心逐渐在世界各地转移，从印度到波斯，沿着地中海到非洲海岸附近的岛屿，然后是美洲，最后又转移到了印度尼西亚。为了生产糖，人们创造出一种全新的农业模式——所谓的种植园制度。在这个系统中，殖民者种植了大面积的单一作物，这些作物可以长途运输并在欧洲销售，以获得利润。为了最大限度地提高这些种植园的生产力和盈利能力，奴隶或契约仆人被带到种植园，来维护和收获作物，这是一种劳动密集型的农业模式。甘蔗是第一个在这种系统中种植的作物，其他作物也随之而来，包括咖啡、棉花、可可、烟草、茶叶、橡胶，以及油棕榈。
甘蔗种植的开端
There is no archeological record of when and where humans first began growing sugar cane as a crop, but it most likely occurred about 10,000 years ago in what is now New Guinea. The species domesticated was Saccharum robustum found in dense stands along rivers. The people in New Guinea were among the most inventive agriculturalists the world has known. They domesticated a broad range of local plant species including not only sugar cane but also taro, bananas, yam, and breadfruit.
关于人类何时何地开始种植甘蔗，没有任何考古记录，但很可能是在大约1万年前出现在新几内亚（当今的）。驯化的物种是新畿内亚野生蔗，人们在河流沿岸发现了这种茂密的植物丛。新几内亚人是世界上已知的最具创造性的农学家之一。他们在当地驯化了广泛的植物物种，不仅有甘蔗，还包括芋头、香蕉、山药和面包树。
The cultivation of sugar cane moved steadily eastward across the Pacific, spreading to the adjacent Solomon Islands, the New Hebrides, New Caledonia, and ultimately to Polynesia. Cultivation of sugar cane also moved westward into continental Asia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and then Northern India. During this advancement, S. officinarum ("nobel canes") hybridized with a local wild species called S. spontaneum to produce a hybrid, S. sinense ("thin canes"). These hybrids were less sweet and not as robust as pure S. officinarum but were hardier and could be grown much more successfully in subtropical mainlands.
甘蔗种植在太平洋地区稳步东移，扩散到邻近的所罗门群岛、新赫布里底群岛、新喀里多尼亚，并最终扩展到波利尼西亚。甘蔗的种植也向西进入亚洲大陆、印度尼西亚、菲律宾，然后是印度北部。在这一进展过程中，秀贵甘蔗（"贵族甘蔗"，又名红甘蔗）与当地的野生物种甜根子草（禾本科甘蔗属下的一个种）杂交，产生了一个杂交种S. sinense（"瘦甘蔗"）。这些杂交种的甜度较低，不如纯种的秀贵甘蔗粗壮，但更耐寒，可以较好地在亚热带地区种植。
Sugar cane was for eons just chewed as a sweet treat, and it was not until about 3,000 years ago that people in India first began squeezing the canes and producing sugar (Gopal, 1964). For a long time, the Indian people kept the whole process of sugar-making a closely guarded secret, resulting in rich profits through trade across the subcontinent. This all changed when Darius I (r. 522-486 BCE), ruler of the Persian Achaemenid Empire, invaded India in 510 BCE. The victors took the technology back to Persia and began producing their own sugar. By the 11th century CE, sugar constituted a significant portion of the trade between the East and Europe. Sugar manufacturing continued in Persia for nearly a thousand years, under a revolving set of rulers, until the Mongol invasions of the 13th century destroyed the industry.
古往今来，甘蔗只是作为一种甜食存在，直到大约3000年前，印度人才第一次开始压榨甘蔗生产糖（Gopal，1964）。在很长一段时间里，印度人将制糖的整个过程保密，通过在整个次大陆的贸易中获取丰富的利润。这种局面在公元前510年波斯阿契美尼德帝国的统治者大流士一世（公元前522-486）入侵印度时发生了变化。波斯人将技术带回了波斯，并开始生产糖。到了公元11世纪，糖构成了东方和欧洲之间贸易的重要部分。糖的生产在波斯持续了近一千年，统治者不断更迭；直到13世纪蒙古人的入侵摧毁了这个行业。
穆斯林的遗产：地中海糖业
When the Prophet Muhammad began his Holy War to convert the world to Islam in 632 CE, his followers simultaneously started an agricultural revolution. It began in their early Persian invasions when they discovered not only sugar cane but also a long list of crops largely unknown to the rest of the world including artichokes, bananas, coconut palms, cotton, eggplants, lemons, limes, mangos, rice, spinach, sorghum, sour oranges, watermelons, wheat, and yam. In what has been called the Arab Agricultural Revolution, as Muslim armies conquered new regions, they introduced this assemblage of crops and in so doing dramatically altered the agriculture of the whole Mediterranean region.
当先知穆罕默德在公元632年开始他的圣战，使世界皈依伊斯兰教时，他的追随者也展开了一场农业革命。这场革命始于早期波斯入侵，当时他们不仅发现了甘蔗，还发现了一系列当时知者甚少的作物，包括朝鲜蓟、香蕉、椰子树、棉花、茄子、柠檬、酸橙、芒果、水稻、菠菜、高粱、酸橙、西瓜、小麦和山药。在被称为阿拉伯农业革命的过程中，随着穆斯林军队征服新的地区，他们引进了这些作物，从而极大地改变了整个地中海地区的农业。
Sugar cane or "the Persian Reed" was introduced by the Muslims into Egypt in 710, where it became the most sought out source of sugar in the world, reaching its peak production from about 1000 to 1350. From Egypt, sugar cane was spread westward by the Arabs across Northern Africa reaching Morocco and Spain in the middle of the 7th century. Significant sugar production began in Morocco in the late 800s, reaching its peak from 1000 to 1200. Iberian Peninsula production of sugar began about 900, with its boom starting in 1300 and lasting until 1500. These areas remained under Muslim control throughout this period.
甘蔗或"波斯芦苇"于710年被穆斯林带到埃及，在那里它成为最受欢迎的糖源，在大约1000年至1350年达到其产量的顶峰。从埃及出发，甘蔗被阿拉伯人带往西方，它穿过北非，在7世纪中期到达摩洛哥和西班牙。摩洛哥在800年代末开始大量生产糖，从1000年到1200年达到高峰。伊比利亚半岛的糖生产大约从900年开始，其繁荣期从1300年开始，持续到1500年。在这一时期，这些地区一直处于穆斯林的控制之下。
The Arabs also introduced sugar to Cyprus, Crete, and Sicily by the early 800s, but significant sugar production did not begin on these islands until well after the Arabs had lost control of most of them. Peak production in Cyprus was from 1300 to 1500, when the island was dominated by the Genoese merchants. The boom years in Crete were from 1400 to 1500 under Venetian rule. In Sicily, the golden years of production were from 800 to 1050 when the island was still under Muslim control and then again from 1380 to 1520 when it was essentially under Spanish rule.
阿拉伯人也在800年代初将甘蔗引入了塞浦路斯、克里特岛和西西里岛，直到阿拉伯人失去对大部分岛屿的控制后，这些岛屿才开始大量生产糖。塞浦路斯的生产高峰是在1300年至1500年，该岛的热那亚商人控制了这一行业。克里特岛的繁荣期是在威尼斯人统治下的1400年至1500年。在西西里岛，生产的黄金时期是800年至1050年，当时该岛仍在穆斯林的控制之下；1380年至1520年也是巅峰期，当时它基本上是在西班牙的统治之下。
葡萄牙人和西班牙人扩大糖业生产
The Portuguese ultimately took control of worldwide sugar production in the 15th century as an economic by-product of their exploration and colonization of the Atlantic Islands along the African coast. The first plantations were set up after the Portuguese colonization of Madeira when Prince Henry decided that sugar production held the key to success for his Atlantic acquisitions, and he sent to Sicily for cane plants and experienced sugar technicians. Armed with this knowledge the first sugar plantations were established by clearcutting land to establish large farms and building factories to process the sugar. The first sugar was refined in Madeira in 1432, and by 1460 the island was the world’s largest sugar producer. Sugar was the main product of the island until the mid-16th century when it was gradually replaced by wine.
最终，葡萄牙人在15世纪控制了全世界的糖业生产，这是他们在非洲海岸探索和殖民大西洋群岛的一个经济副产品。第一批种植园是在葡萄牙殖民马德拉后建立的，当时亨利王子决定发展糖业是他在大西洋殖民的成功关键，他派人到西西里岛寻找甘蔗植物和有经验的糖业技术人员。有了这些知识，葡萄牙人在殖民地开拓土地来建立大型农场，并建立工厂来加工甘蔗。1432年，葡萄牙人在马德拉的种植园提炼出第一批糖；到1460年，该岛成为世界上最大的糖生产地。糖是该岛的主要产品，直到16世纪中期才逐渐被葡萄酒取代。
In the 15th century, the Portuguese also discovered and developed the unpopulated Azores, Cape Verde Islands, and São Tomé, while the Spaniards conquered the already inhabited Canary Islands. Sugar never became important in the Azores and Cape Verde Islands, but the Spanish Canaries and Portuguese São Tomé became major sugar producers by the late 1400s. From the very beginning of Atlantic sugar production, slave labor was the main source of manpower. The Spanish started out by forcing the native peoples the Guanches to work in the cane fields. When there were too few Guanches left alive from disease and overwork to take care of their fields, they imported African slaves.
15世纪，葡萄牙人发现并开发了无人居住的亚速尔群岛、佛得角群岛和圣多美，而西班牙人则征服了已经有人居住的加纳利群岛。糖业在亚速尔群岛和佛得角群岛发展较少，但西班牙人的加那利群岛和葡萄牙圣多美则在14世纪末成为主要的糖生产地。从大西洋糖业生产的开始，奴隶就是人力的主要来源。西班牙人一开始就强迫本地的关切人（古安切人）在甘蔗地里工作。当因疾病和过度劳累而活着的关切人越来越少，无法照顾种植园时，西班牙人将非洲奴隶带到种植园。
巴 西
In the 16th century, the center of sugar production began to shift to the Spanish-controlled Caribbean, first in Santo Domingo, and then to a smaller extent in Cuba and Puerto Rico. Christopher Columbus (l. 1451-1506) had introduced sugar cane to the region on his second voyage of 1493. The Spanish were still much more interested in finding gold and silver, but they found the profit of sugar too enticing to pass up. They imported skilled sugar masters from the Canaries in 1515 and sent their first shipment of sugar to Europe soon after.
16世纪，糖业生产的中心开始转移到西班牙控制的加勒比地区，首先是圣多明各，然后是古巴和波多黎各，范围较小。克里斯多福·哥伦布（1451-1506年）在1493年的第二次航行中将甘蔗带入该地区。西班牙人仍然对寻找黄金和白银更感兴趣，但他们发现糖的利润太诱人了，无法放弃。1515年，他们从加那利群岛引进了熟练的制糖师，并在不久之后向欧洲输送第一批糖。
The Portuguese discovered Brazil in 1500, and it did not take them long to begin planting sugar cane there. The first sugar plantation was established in 1518, and by the late 1500s, Brazil had become the leading supplier of sugar to the European markets. Brazilian sugar production reached its peak in the 1620s in the Pernambuco and Bahia regions, at about 15,000-20,000 tons a year.
葡萄牙人在1500年发现了巴西，没过多久他们就开始在那里种植甘蔗。巴西第一个甘蔗种植园于1518年建立，到15世纪末，巴西已成为欧洲市场的主要糖类供应产地。巴西伯南布哥和巴伊亚地区的糖产量在1620年达到顶峰，每年约15,000-20,000吨。
When the Portuguese arrived in Brazil in the early 1500s, they quickly set about subjugating the local Tupi to work in their mines and harvest their sugar cane. However, the Tupi proved to be poorly adapted to the routine, sedentary lifestyle of farming and were particularly uncooperative slaves. They were also very subject to western diseases and found it relatively easy to run away and hide in the dense forest. The Portuguese solution to this labor problem was to turn to the African slave trade, a system they had already employed in their Atlantic sugar plantations off the coast of Africa. By the mid-16th century, African slavery predominated on the sugar plantations of Brazil, although the enslavement of the indigenous people continued well into the 17th century.
当葡萄牙人在15世纪初到达巴西时，他们迅速着手征服当地的图皮人，让他们在矿场工作，并派他们收获甘蔗。事实证明，图皮人很不适应常规的、定居的农耕生活，而且是特别“不友好”的奴隶。他们也很容易受到西方疾病的影响，而且当地人逃跑和躲在密林中很容易。葡萄牙解决这一劳动力问题的办法是转向非洲奴隶贸易，他们已经在非洲沿海的大西洋糖业种植园中采用了这一制度。到16世纪中期，非洲奴隶制在巴西的糖业种植园中占主导地位，葡萄牙人对原住民的奴役一直持续到17世纪。
The burgeoning sugar industry of the Portuguese was first largely financed by Dutch merchants, but the Dutch eventually established their own colony in northeastern Brazil. There they were active sugar producers from 1630 to 1654, until they were expelled by the Portuguese. The Dutch took their money, expertise, and shipping to the Caribbean, which was now being actively colonized by the British and French. Within 30 years, the Caribbean took over dominance of worldwide sugar production, driving the price of Brazilian sugar down by two-thirds and severely reducing their exports.
葡萄牙人蓬勃发展的制糖业最初主要由荷兰商人提供资金，但荷兰人最终也在巴西东北部建立了自己的殖民地。从1630年到1654年，他们在那里是活跃的糖业生产者，直到被葡萄牙人驱逐。荷兰人把他们的资金、专业知识和航运带到了加勒比地区，而此时的加勒比地区正被英国和法国殖民。在30年内，加勒比地区占据了世界糖业生产的主导地位，使巴西糖的价格下降了三分之二，并严重影响了巴西糖的出口。
加勒比海地区的糖业
The Brazilian sugar industry found its competition, first from the tiny island of Barbados, and ultimately from a hodgepodge of British-, French-, and Dutch-controlled islands. Originally settled in 1627, Barbados became one massive sugar factory by the 1640s, dominated by a handful of large plantation owners. Plantation life and labor were hard and fast, with lives being shortened by rampant disease and booze, but the hardiest (and lucky) amassed vast sums of wealth and lived opulent lifestyles patterned after that of the British Royalty.
巴西的制糖业出现了竞争对手，首先是来自巴巴多斯岛；紧接着，英国、法国和荷兰控制的加勒比诸岛。巴巴多斯最初于1627年有人定居，到1640年代成为一个巨大的制糖工厂，由少数几个大种植园主控制。种植园的生活和劳动是艰苦而快速的，猖獗的疾病和酗酒缩短了人们的生命，但最顽强的人（和幸运的人）积累了大量的财富，过着仿照英国皇室的富足生活。
By the late 1600s, sugar production was important on a number of Caribbean Islands including the British-controlled Antigua and Nevis, French-controlled Martinique, Guadeloupe and St. Dominique (now Haiti), and French- and British-controlled sections of St. Kitts. Dutch merchants had amassed great wealth ferreting goods to and from the islands. Ultimately, British Jamaica became the crown jewel of Caribbean sugar production, after a long and difficult settlement period.
到16世纪末，糖的生产在一些加勒比群岛上变得非常重要，包括英国控制的安提瓜和尼维斯、法国控制的马提尼克、瓜德罗普和圣多米尼克（现在的海地）以及法国和英国控制的圣基茨部分。荷兰商人通过在这些岛屿上运输货物积累了大量财富。最终，英属牙买加在经历了漫长而艰难的定居期后，成为加勒比海糖业生产的皇冠上的明珠。
糖与政治
The most productive years of sugar production in the Caribbean coincided with a tumultuous period of European politics, when France, England, Spain, and the Netherlands were continually at war in various combinations. All the European conflicts spilled over into the Caribbean, and the importance of the Caribbean sugar plantations to the European economy had far-ranging effects on North America. By the 1700s, sugar was the most important internationally traded commodity and was responsible for a third of the whole European economy. The English Islands also produced considerable quantities of rum consumed by British drinkers all across the world, while the French shipped vast quantities of molasses to the British American colonies, where it was made into rum and sold throughout the continent.
加勒比海地区糖业生产最丰收的时期恰好是欧洲政治的动荡时期，当时法国、英国、西班牙和荷兰以不同的联盟形式不断地进行战争。所有的欧洲冲突都波及到了加勒比地区，加勒比地区的糖业种植园对欧洲经济的重要性对北美产生了深远的影响。到1700年代，糖是最重要的国际贸易商品，占整个欧洲经济的三分之一。英格兰群岛还生产了相当数量的朗姆酒，供世界各地的英国人饮用，而法国人则将大量的糖蜜运到英属美洲殖民地，在那里制成朗姆酒并销往整个大陆。
When the British northern colonies declared their independence in 1776, the subsequent war was really fought by the British on two fronts, North America and the Caribbean. The Caribbean sugar industry was simply too valuable to be ignored and it was a much more important component of the British economy than the northern colonies. Britain had no choice but to maintain a strong force in the Caribbean during the Revolutionary War. It is likely that this attention aided the northern colonists greatly in winning their independence.
当美洲北方殖民地在1776年宣布独立时，随后的战争实际上是英国人在两条战线上进行的，即北美和加勒比。加勒比海的制糖业太有价值了，不容忽视，它是英国经济中比北方殖民地更重要的组成部分。在革命战争期间，英国别无选择，只能在加勒比地区保持一支强大的力量。这种形式很可能对北方殖民者赢得独立有很大帮助。
圣多明各的奴隶起义（海地革命）
By the 18th century, the center of sugar production had moved to St. Dominque, the French half of Hispaniola. Thousands of sugar plantations now dotted its landscape and it had become the richest sugar island. This dominance would literally go up in flames at the end of the century when the slaves successfully rebelled and established a free nation. This freedom was won by defeating the armies of Europe’s leading powers, first France and then Great Britain. A man named Toussaint became the de facto ruler of St. Dominique, calling himself “L’Ouverture” ("the opening"). On 1 January 1804, St. Dominque was declared independent and became Haiti, the second nation in the Americas (after the United States) to free itself from European control. Fittingly, Haiti was the original indigenous Arawak’s name for Hispaniola.
到了18世纪，糖业生产的中心已经转移到了圣多明各，即伊斯帕尼奥拉岛的法属部分。数以千计的糖业种植园点缀其间，它已成为最富有的糖岛。在本世纪末，当奴隶们成功反叛并建立起一个自由国家时，这种统治地位实际上就被烧毁了。这一自由是通过击败欧洲主要大国的军队赢得的，首先是法国，然后是英国。一个名叫杜桑·卢维杜尔的人成为圣多米尼克的实际统治者，自称 "L'Ouverture"（"开幕"）。1804年1月1日，圣多明各宣布独立，更名海地，这是美洲第二个摆脱欧洲控制的国家（继美国之后）。恰如其分的是，海地是原住民阿拉瓦克人对伊斯帕尼奥拉的称呼。
The Founding Fathers of the United States wrested mightily over the concept of Haiti. There was widespread fear that a similar rebellion could occur in the southern US among the hundreds of thousands of slaves held in captivity. The recognition of Haiti stood in limbo in the US for over 60 years, waiting until President Abraham Lincoln acknowledged it in 1862 during the Civil War, just before his landmark Emancipation Proclamation.
美国的开国元勋们为海地的概念进行了激烈的角力。人们普遍担心在美国南部被囚禁的数十万奴隶中会发生类似的叛乱。在美国，对海地的承认被搁置了60多年，直到1862年内战期间，林肯总统在发表具有里程碑意义的《解放奴隶宣言》之前承认了海地。
After the Haitian revolution, many sugar planters fled to Cuba and Louisiana. Cuba soon became the world center of sugar production, while Louisiana became the sugar bowel of the US. The whole plantation system of the Caribbean was essentially transferred to Cuba and Louisiana, where slavery still existed.
海地革命后，许多糖业种植者逃往古巴和路易斯安那州。古巴很快成为世界糖业生产中心，而路易斯安那州则成为美国的糖业大本营。加勒比海地区的整个种植园系统基本上被转移到古巴和路易斯安那州，那里仍然存在着奴隶制。
When the Civil War began and cut off sugar supplies from Louisiana to the North, Hawaii became the new sugar production center for the US. Sugar cane had actually arrived in Hawaii in prehistoric times and was being grown there by the indigenous people long before Cook’s discovery of the islands, but modern plantations were not established until the mid-1800s.
美国内战开始后，切断了从路易斯安那到北方的糖供应，夏威夷成为美国新的糖生产中心。实际上，甘蔗在史前时代就已经到达夏威夷，早在库克发现该岛之前，当地人就已经开始种植甘蔗，但现代种植园直到19世纪中期才建立起来。
Numerous other sugar centers cropped up across the globe in the mid to late 19th century including British and Dutch Guiana (Guyana), East Africa, Mauritius, Natal (South Africa), and Queensland (Australia). Slavery had been abolished across most of the world by then, and these sugar plantations all came to depend on indentured workers, mostly from India. Over one million Indian indentured workers went to sugar plantations from 1835 to 1917, 450,000 to Mauritius, 150, 000 to East Africa and Natal, and 450,000 to South America and the Caribbean.
19世纪中后期，全球出现了许多糖业中心，包括英属和荷属圭亚那（圭亚那）、东非、毛里求斯、纳塔尔（南非）和昆士兰（澳大利亚）。那时，世界上大部分地区已经废除了奴隶制，这些糖业种植园都依赖契约工人，大部分来自印度。从1835年到1917年，超过100万印度契约工人前往糖业种植园，45万前往毛里求斯，15万前往东非和纳塔尔，45万前往南美和加勒比地区。
荷兰在爪哇的制糖业
In the mid-1800s, the Dutch built a huge sugar industry in Java by exploiting the native people. The Javanese were required to grow cane for them, deliver it to factories, and then work in those factories. At the heart of what was called the “Cultivation System” were 94 water-powered Dutch sugar factories, which processed raw cane into refined sugar. In the 1850s, the Dutch collected detailed information on over 10,000 villages and came up with a plan where catchment areas were identified with a radius of approximately 4-7 kilometers around each factory. All villages within these catchment areas were then reorganized to grow cane.
19世纪中期，荷兰人通过剥削当地人在爪哇建立了一个巨大的制糖业。爪哇人被要求为他们种植甘蔗，把甘蔗送到工厂，然后在这些工厂工作。被称为"种植系统"的核心是94家以水为动力的荷兰糖厂，它们将原料甘蔗加工成精制糖。在19世纪50年代，荷兰人收集了超过10,000个村庄的详细信息，并制定了一个计划，在每个工厂周围约4-7公里的范围内确定集水区。然后，这些集水区的所有村庄被重新组织起来种植甘蔗。
Over the course of the system, millions of Javanese worked in sugar processing and transport - via both forced and free labor. By one estimate, a quarter of the population was involved in the industry. The system became so massive, that in the mid-19th century, sugar production in Java accounted for one-third of the Dutch government’s revenues and 4 percent of Dutch GDP. Java came to be one of the world’s most financially lucrative colonies.
在这个系统中，数以百万计的爪哇人被强迫或自由劳动从事糖的加工和运输工作。据估计，有四分之一的爪哇人参与了这个行业。这个系统变得如此庞大，以至于在19世纪中期，爪哇的糖业生产占荷兰政府收入的三分之一，占荷兰国内生产总值的4%。爪哇成为世界上最有利可图的殖民地之一。
In 1870, an Agrarian Law was passed in the Netherlands that abolished forced labor and allowed private companies to lease land in sparsely populated areas. This led to widespread investment in larger plantations and a great expansion into western Java and Sumatra. Sugar was joined by coffee, tea, and tobacco. The early plantations were begun by private investors, but over time were replaced by international corporations. The labor pool shifted from forced family units to indentured servants, mostly illiterate peasants from Java and Singapore.
1870年，荷兰通过了一项土地法，废除了强迫劳动，并允许私人公司在人口稀少的地区租赁土地。这导致人们对大型种植园的广泛投资，并向爪哇岛西部和苏门答腊岛进行了大规模扩张。除了糖，还有咖啡、茶和烟草。早期的种植园是由私人投资者创办的，但随着时间的推移，它们逐渐被国际公司所取代。劳动力从强迫家庭单位转向契约仆人，大多数是来自爪哇和新加坡的文盲农民。
甜菜的出现和当今的制糖业
During the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), cane sugar was no longer available in French-controlled Europe due to the naval blockade of the British. To satisfy the French sweet tooth, the humble beet, already a source of food and fodder in Europe, came to be grown and processed for its sugar. The amount of sugar in the beets was then much lower than sugar cane, and the extraction process was costlier, but it was pretty much the only source of sugar available. Napoleon ordered the planting of thousands of acres of sugar beets, and by 1814 more than 300 factories were making sugar from beets. When Napoleon’s empire collapsed after Waterloo, the boycott was lifted, and the cheaper Caribbean cane sugar took back its European dominance.
在拿破仑战争（1803-1815）期间，由于英国的海上封锁，法国控制的欧洲糖源紧缺。为了满足法国人对甜食的需求，在欧洲原本是食物和饲料的不起眼的甜菜开始被种植和加工成糖。当时甜菜的含糖量比甘蔗低得多，而且提取过程成本较高，但这几乎是当时法国唯一的糖源了。拿破仑下令种植数千英亩的甜菜，到1814年，有300多家工厂在用甜菜制糖。当拿破仑的帝国在滑铁卢战役后崩溃时，甜菜制糖被取消了，更便宜的加勒比海蔗糖夺回了它在欧洲的主导地位。
Sugar production from beets remained in the twilight for several decades, until the British banned slavery in the Caribbean, causing cane sugar prices to rise substantially. By now, beets had been selected with sugar levels that were comparable to sugar cane and the cost of extraction had dropped dramatically. Now the two kinds of sugar were almost on equal footing. By 1854, 11% of the world’s sugar came from beets and by 1899 65% more sugar was extracted from sugar beets than sugar cane.
几十年来，甜菜制糖一直处于低迷状态，直到英国禁止加勒比海地区的奴隶制，导致蔗糖价格大幅上涨。到现在，好的甜菜品种已经被选育出来，其糖分水平与甘蔗相当，而且提取成本也大幅下降。现在这两种糖几乎处于平等地位。到1854年，世界上11%的糖来自甜菜，到1899年，从甜菜中提取的糖比甘蔗多65%。
Today, Brazil is once again the leading sugar producer in the world, followed by India, the EU, China, Thailand, and then the USA. Brazil, India, and Thailand grow almost exclusively sugar cane, while the EU is predominantly sugar beet, the US is about 50%, and China is 20% sugar beet. Most of the labor force in today’s cane fields are still workers brought in from outside the production regions by labor managers. These workers continue to serve as cheap labor almost as slaves when money for food, housing, and other necessities is deducted from their salary leaving them in debt.
如今，巴西再次成为世界上主要的糖生产国，其次是印度、欧盟、中国、泰国，然后是美国。巴西、印度和泰国几乎完全种植甘蔗，而欧盟主要是甜菜，美国约为50%，中国为20%的甜菜。今天甘蔗田里的大部分劳动力仍然是由劳工经理从生产地区以外带进来的工人。这些工人继续充当廉价劳动力，但他们几乎等同于“奴隶”，因为购买食物、住房和其他必需品的钱被从工资中扣除，使他们负债累累。
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原文作者：James F. Hancock
James F. Hancock是一名自由撰稿人，密歇根州立大学的名誉教授。他的研究领域是作物进化和贸易史。他的书包括《香料、香味和丝绸》（CABI），以及《种植园作物》（Routledge）
原文网址：
https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1784/sugar--the-rise-of-the-plantation-system/
封面：1800 年代在美国南部种植园的奴隶切割甘蔗的插图
