Sugar Changed the World

Aronson and Budhos talk about the process of writing the book and “the really large historical themes that came up in our research” (127). Unlike the book itself, this section is not intended for young readers. However, they also add that they believe that these questions about research might be of interest to middle and high school students.

Aronson and Budhos identify the key questions they raise in Sugar Changed the World as, “How were sugar and slavery related to the question of freedom?” (127) and “How does a clear look at sugar and slavery change how we see ideas of freedom and the invention of new kinds of work and machinery?” (128). Also, they write that a main goal of the book was to take a broader view of historical issues. They sought to link together the story of sugar, the history of slavery and abolitionism, the American, French, and Haiti revolutions, and industrialization. In addition, they wanted to bring together African, European, Indian, and American history. Further, they wanted to try to “understand the deepest, most basic drives of human behavior” (128).

Next, Aronson and Budhos describe the process of writing the book. They drew on second works, meaning scholarly writings on history.