In the fifteenth century, however, things began to change. Sugar cane yields on the Mediterranean islands were disappointing. Sugar cane is a demanding plant that quickly impoverishes the soil in which it grows. At the same time, others were envious of Venice’s success or tried to emulate it.
Sugar cultivation and processing required heavy capital outlay and groups other than the Venetians - Genoese, Spaniards, Portuguese and Flemish - were prepared to invest.
The winners were the Portuguese.
They were excellent navigators, driven by the spirit of discovery. By the mid-fifteenth century, they had planted sugar cane and established refineries in Madeira. Traders from Flanders and Italy settled on the island and organised the export of sugar to La Rochelle, Rouen, Genoa, Venice, Bruges and England.
The Portuguese repeated the experiment on the island of São Tomé off the coast of West Africa.
But all this was just a rehearsal for the great leap towards America