Warning: Use of undefined constant referer - assumed 'referer' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 102

Warning: Use of undefined constant host - assumed 'host' (this will throw an Error in a future version of PHP) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 105

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 106

Warning: Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays:102) in /usr/home/essaywo/public_html/essays on line 109
Sweetness And Power - Papers Online

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 ...

Want to read the rest of this paper?
Join Essayworld today to view this entire essay
and over 50,000 other term papers

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, ...

Get instant access to over 50,000 essays.
Write better papers. Get better grades.


Already a member? Login

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 ...

Succeed in your coursework without stepping into a library.
Get access to a growing library of notes, book reports,
and research papers in 2 minutes or less.


CITE THIS PAGE:

Sweetness And Power. (2006, May 20). Retrieved November 30, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Sweetness-And-Power/46194
"Sweetness And Power." Essayworld.com. Essayworld.com, 20 May. 2006. Web. 30 Nov. 2024. <http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Sweetness-And-Power/46194>
"Sweetness And Power." Essayworld.com. May 20, 2006. Accessed November 30, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Sweetness-And-Power/46194.
"Sweetness And Power." Essayworld.com. May 20, 2006. Accessed November 30, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Sweetness-And-Power/46194.
JOIN NOW
Join today and get instant access to this and 50,000+ other essays


PAPER DETAILS
Added: 5/20/2006 03:26:56 AM
Category: English
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 1994
Pages: 8

Save | Report

SHARE THIS PAPER

SAVED ESSAYS
Save and find your favorite essays easier

SIMILAR ESSAYS
Sweetness And Power
Sweetness And Power
Sweetness And Power
Comparison Of Karl Marx And Mat...
Great Gatsby and the Corruption...
The Portrayal Of Women In The N...
Watching Payton Was Pure Sweetn...
Astrology
Analysis Of Children's Fairy Ta...
The Little Prince
Copyright | Cancel | Contact Us

Copyright © 2024 Essayworld. All rights reserved