colonialism entails the occupation, exploitation, and continued repression of peoples in one territory by another more powerful nation-state through both material and human forms of exploitation. The opening up of the New World was a result of colonial prowess and dominance punctuated by violence in virtually every domain, including the political, economic, social, and cultural spheres. The demand for sugar profoundly affected not only the New World but also the balance of European imperial power, as exemplified by the rise of the British Empire in the seventeenth century and the rapid increase in sugar consumption, which grew in proportion to Britain’s influence. The virtually complete transformation of nations such as Barbados into massive sugar plantations was accompanied by simultaneous changes in European habits of consumption and domestic culture that fundamentally altered the world.
