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| Where did sugar cane originate? | to Top |
Experts place the origin of sugar cane in the South Pacific about 8,000 years ago. Probably native to New guinea, the plant moved northward to Southeast Asia and India. An officer of Alexander's army made the first specific mention of sugar in about 325 B.C., referring to it as a reed that yielded "honey without bees." sugar cane culitvation and refining spread east to China about 100 B.C.
In Europe, sugar was a scarce luxury until the 13th century when Venetian traders expanded its availability. Portuguese enterprise brought sugar to the west coast of Africa and then to Brazil. The Spaniards introduced sugar cultivation into their colonies in the Canary Islands, from which Columbus brought cane to the Caribbean on his second voyage in 1493. England and France established their own refineries in the 1600s to handle sugar from the West Indies.
The Sugar Association, Inc. Fast Facts About Sugar 1101 15th Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20005. 202/785-1122
Updated: Saturday, December 29, 2007.
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