Sweetness And Power
is a historical study of sugar and its affect on society and economy since it was first discovered. Sugar has had a large impact on society and the economy that is not noticeable unless thoroughly studied. The following is an analysis of the work done by Sidney W. Mintz in his attempt to enlighten the "educated layperson".
Mintz uses a very basic system for organizing the tremendous amount of data found within in the book. The book is divided into 5 chapters: "Food, Sociality, and Sugar", "Production", "Consumption", "Power", and "Eating and Being". Each of these chapters discusses different issues dealing with the ...
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one begins by describing the connection between different groups of society and the food that each of them eats. Mintz argues that food is a factor in which one can identify and categorize a society and/or those who belong to that society, which is shown on page 3 with the line "Food choices and eating habits reveal distinctions of age, sex, status, culture, and even occupation." Later in the book, Mintz will continue this contention by describing sugar as a symbol of power and nobility. Another important idea revealed to the reader in chapter one is the source of focus for the book, which is shown in this statement on page 5:
Specifically, I am concerned with a single substance called sucrose, a kind of sugar extracted primarily from the sugar can, and with what became of it. The story can be summed up in a few sentences. In 1000 A.D., few Europeans knew of the existence of sucrose, or can sugar. But soon afterward they learned about it; by 1650, ...
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the economics of sugar production and how it directly affected world economics. A very important fact discussed in this chapter relates sugar to the evolution of capitalism. Mintz contends that as sugar becomes less of a symbol of power and more of a common item for the common person, that mercantilism begins to die out. As this happens, capitalism begins to play more heavily on the economy. Mintz quotes Fernando Ortiz’s phrase describing sugar as the "favored child of capitalism, and furthermore arguing his point as shown in this statement found on page 46:
Mercantilism was finally dealt its quietus in the mid-nineteenth century, and the sugar market and its potential played a ...
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Sweetness And Power. (2006, May 20). Retrieved December 23, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Sweetness-And-Power/46194
"Sweetness And Power." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 20 May. 2006. Web. 23 Dec. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Sweetness-And-Power/46194>
"Sweetness And Power." Essayworld.com. May 20, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Sweetness-And-Power/46194.
"Sweetness And Power." Essayworld.com. May 20, 2006. Accessed December 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Sweetness-And-Power/46194.
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