The Portuguese conquistadors sailed off in search of gold and spices. Spices were in short supply, but sugar cane saved the day. It quickly became the key commodity in international trade, also giving rise to another form of commerce: the slave trade.
From Madeira, the Portuguese transferred expertise and equipment to Brazil in the 1500s. They continued to dominate the sugar trade until 1630, when the English and French in the Caribbean took over.
At the beginning of the seventeenth century, French colonial settlements in the Caribbean were centred around tobacco plantations. The settlers did not begin planting sugar cane until 1643, following the failure of the tobacco crops. Sugar factories quickly multiplied in Martinique, Guadeloupe and Santo Domingo.
In mainland France, refineries flourished in Nantes, Bordeaux, Marseille, Rouen and La Rochelle under the influence of the French minister of finance, Colbert. The sugar processed in these refineries initially came from the Canaries, Madeira and Brazil. The industry grew stronger as sugar cane production was expanded to the islands of the New World.
The century of the Enlightenment saw French domination of the sugar industry. Sugar became a key element in the national economy and consequently in European politics.
During the “Second Hundred Years’ War”(1688-1815) between France and England, the two nations were largely fighting for domination of the sugar trade.
In 1763, France willingly relinquished Canada to the English rather than lose the “sugar islands”.