Final answer:
The book 'Sugar Changed the World' connects John Smith's story in British Guiana to the vegetable seller in India and Indian workers in 'Crossing the Black Water' to demonstrate how sugar production and labor exploitation were globally interconnected.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the book Sugar Changed the World, the authors connect the story of John Smith in British Guiana with the vegetable seller in British India and the description of Indian workers in “Crossing the Black Water” by illustrating the global impact of sugar production and the exploitation of labor required for its cultivation. The authors draw parallels between the exploitation of labor in various colonies, demonstrating how the European merchants' designed system for sugar production led to the suffering and death of enslaved people. This exploitation extended to other commodities like cocoa, coffee, tea, and cotton, affecting the economies of South Asian and African countries that were rearranged around the export of these commodities. The narrative of John Smith highlights the specifics of the sugar trade in British Guiana, while the person selling vegetables in India illustrates the broader impact of European economic practices on local populations. The stories of Indian workers in “Crossing the Black Water” reveal the grueling conditions and challenges faced by the indentured workers who replaced slaves after the abolition of the slave trade.
The text provides evidence of the harsh realities of sugar plantations, as depicted in the 1823 painting of a sugar plantation in British Antigua, where slaves generally died after about three years of arrival due to brutal conditions. The economic rationale for such cruelty is underscored by the recognition that the cost of replacing slaves was outweighed by the profits generated, leading to a cycle of exploitation and death. Thomas Jefferson’s writings on the economic benefits of “natural replacements” show a chilling acknowledgment of the profitability of enslaved workers' reproduction in the context of less harsh crop cultivation compared to the sugar cane industry.