Sweetness and Power: The Place of Sugar in Modern History by Sidney W. Mintz has really opened my eyes up into the world of sucrose. The first chapter Food, Sociality, and Sugar helped show me the rich history of sugar and its early beginnings.
As hard as it was to get through those first few chapters discussing it in class and looking at the different maps showing trade routes helped me visualize Mintz thoughts a lot more clearly.
I really admire Mintz's attention to detail. I was curious to learn more bout him so I googled him and found this website http://sidneymintz.net/sugar.php. Upon reading about his academic background I came across this quote in reference to writing Sweetness and Power.
"I became awed by the power of a single taste, and the concentration of brains, energy, wealth and -- most of all, power -- that had led to its being supplied to so many, in such stunningly large quantities, and at so terrible a cost in life and suffering. "
This quote for me set the tone for the rest of the book. In the back of my mind as I am reading I constantly am reminding myself that sugar is basic to the emergence of the global market. To better understand the world of trade we first have to know the basics. Finding this quote changed the way I will read this book.
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