World History
In the 15th century, the Atlantic islands of Spain and Portugal were crucial in the formation of a kind of technological and commercial prototype or template for slave-based sugar production that was transferred to the Americas after 1492.
The Portuguese began colonizing the Madeira Islands (especially Madeira, La Palma, Hierro, and Porto Santo, c. 768 square kilometers) in the early 1420s; the nine islands of the Azores (c. 2,300 square kilometers) in the 1430s or 1440s; and the 10 principal islands of the Cape Verde Islands (c. 4,000 square kilometers), most importantly São Tomé and Principe, in the late 1400s. None of these islands were inhabited. This was not true of the seven Canary Islands (c. 7,300 square kilometers), which were inhabited by a group collectively known as the Guanches.
In the late 1300s, Castilians, Italians, French, and others launched slave-raiding expeditions on the Canaries. The Spanish formally incorporated the Canaries into their empire in 1496 after the subjugation of the islands’ natives, though nominal Castilian rule dated back to the early 1400s.
Together these Atlantic islands provided the aggressively expansive empires of Spain and Portugal with “stepping stones†to the Americas for their nascent sugar and other tropical export industries.
Crucibles of empirical, hands-on experiments regarding all aspects of sugar production—from cultivation and harvest, to the importation and control of African slave labor, to the quasi-industrial processes by which cane juice was transformed into granular sugar—the Atlantic islands were crucial in the development of the technological know-how necessary for the explosion of sugar production in the Caribbean and Brazil in the 16th century and after.
By the late 1450s, sugar production on Madeira exceeded 70,000 kilograms, most exported to England and the Mediterranean, deepening markets and solidifying the financial and commercial networks that would later play a crucial role in the development of plantation-based export production in the Americas.
The administrative infrastructure that the Portuguese developed to rule Madeira, the Azores, and the Cape Verde Islands, based on hereditary “donatary captaincies,†were likewise transferred wholesale to Brazil during the first half-century of its colonization.
Plantation-based sugar production on Madeira in particular, based on both slave and free-wage labor, also whetted the European appetite for this luxury commodity, deepening demand just on the eve of the encounter with the Americas.
In addition both before and after sugar production had become established in the Americas, the Atlantic islands served as important way stations for the African slave trade and for long-distance trade with Asia.
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World History
Atlantic Islands of Spain and Portugal
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| Madeira Islands - nowdays |
In the 15th century, the Atlantic islands of Spain and Portugal were crucial in the formation of a kind of technological and commercial prototype or template for slave-based sugar production that was transferred to the Americas after 1492.
The Portuguese began colonizing the Madeira Islands (especially Madeira, La Palma, Hierro, and Porto Santo, c. 768 square kilometers) in the early 1420s; the nine islands of the Azores (c. 2,300 square kilometers) in the 1430s or 1440s; and the 10 principal islands of the Cape Verde Islands (c. 4,000 square kilometers), most importantly São Tomé and Principe, in the late 1400s. None of these islands were inhabited. This was not true of the seven Canary Islands (c. 7,300 square kilometers), which were inhabited by a group collectively known as the Guanches.
In the late 1300s, Castilians, Italians, French, and others launched slave-raiding expeditions on the Canaries. The Spanish formally incorporated the Canaries into their empire in 1496 after the subjugation of the islands’ natives, though nominal Castilian rule dated back to the early 1400s.
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Together these Atlantic islands provided the aggressively expansive empires of Spain and Portugal with “stepping stones†to the Americas for their nascent sugar and other tropical export industries.
Crucibles of empirical, hands-on experiments regarding all aspects of sugar production—from cultivation and harvest, to the importation and control of African slave labor, to the quasi-industrial processes by which cane juice was transformed into granular sugar—the Atlantic islands were crucial in the development of the technological know-how necessary for the explosion of sugar production in the Caribbean and Brazil in the 16th century and after.
By the late 1450s, sugar production on Madeira exceeded 70,000 kilograms, most exported to England and the Mediterranean, deepening markets and solidifying the financial and commercial networks that would later play a crucial role in the development of plantation-based export production in the Americas.
The administrative infrastructure that the Portuguese developed to rule Madeira, the Azores, and the Cape Verde Islands, based on hereditary “donatary captaincies,†were likewise transferred wholesale to Brazil during the first half-century of its colonization.
Plantation-based sugar production on Madeira in particular, based on both slave and free-wage labor, also whetted the European appetite for this luxury commodity, deepening demand just on the eve of the encounter with the Americas.
In addition both before and after sugar production had become established in the Americas, the Atlantic islands served as important way stations for the African slave trade and for long-distance trade with Asia.
- Dutch In Latin America
The Dutch presence in the Americas was integral to the worldwide competition for empire among European powers in the early modern era. Among the most important national actors in the newly discovered lands of the New World in the 16th and 17th centuries,...
- History Of Sao Tome And Principe
History of Sao Tome and Principe. This is a short essay on the history of the African island nation of Sao Tome and Principe. Wikipedia notes, "The Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe is a small island nation in the Gulf of Guinea. It consists...
- History Of Portugal
History of Portugal. This is a short essay covering the history of the European nation of Portugal.Wikipedia notes, "The Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa) is located on the west and southwest parts of the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern...
- History Of Us Virgin Islands
History of US Virgin Islands. This is a short but decent history of the American portion of the Virgin Islands. From the site: The Virgin Islands were originally settled by the Ciboney, Carib, and Arawaks. The islands were named by Christopher Columbus...
- History Of Cape Verde
History of Cape Verde. This is a short but good look at the history of this island nation off of the coast of Africa. From the site: In 1462, Portuguese settlers arrived at Santiago and founded Ribeira Grande (now Cidade Velha)--the first permanent...