From India to the World: The Sweet Odyssey of Sugar

India has made significant contributions to the world in various fields, including mathematics, science, philosophy, and spirituality. Many of these contributions have had a profound impact on the world. For example, the concept of zero and the decimal system, which were developed in ancient India, are now used in mathematics and accounting around the world. The practice of yoga, which originated in ancient India, has become a popular form of exercise and stress relief in the Western world. While concepts of Zero, Yoga and Ayurveda are perhaps better-known contributions from India, there are some lesser known contributions from India that have gained global recognition. In this series of articles we will be telling you about these lesser known contributions of India to the world.

The Birth of Sugar in Ancient India

The story of sugar begins over two millennia ago in the lush fields of ancient India, where sugarcane, a tall tropical grass native to New Guinea, found its first purpose beyond mere chewing. The Sanskrit word ?arkarā (??????), meaning “grit” or “gravel,” aptly described the coarse, crystalline sugar produced by early Indian innovators. By 100 AD, Indian texts detailed the world’s first sugar mills, where sugarcane juice was boiled and crystallized into raw granules called khanda—a term that would later inspire the English word “candy.”

During the Gupta Empire (4th–6th century CE), sugar refining became an art. The Arthashastra, an ancient treatise on statecraft, mentions sugar as a valuable commodity, while culinary texts like the Mahabhashya of Patanjali (circa 400–350 BCE) reveal recipes for sweets like rice pudding and barley meal sweetened with sugar. By this time, Indian sailors and traders had begun spreading sugarcane cultivation and refining techniques across Southeast Asia, laying the groundwork for sugar’s global journey.

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Sugar’s Silk Road: From Persia to the Mediterranean

In the 6th century CE, Indian sugar reached Persia via bustling trade routes. The Persians adopted the Sanskrit ?arkarā into their language as shakar, refining the crystals into whiter, purer forms using clay molds. When Arab armies conquered Persia in the 7th century, they absorbed Persian sugar knowledge, dubbing it sukkar (???) and spreading it across their sprawling caliphate.

By the 8th century, Arab agronomists had introduced sugarcane to the Mediterranean’s sun-drenched coasts—Egypt, Spain’s Al-Andalus, and Sicily. In Egypt, sugar became a symbol of wealth; Cairo’s markets boasted the purest white sugar, while Arab apothecaries prescribed it as medicine. The Arab world also elevated sugar into luxury cuisine. In Baghdad, chefs blended sugar with almonds to craft marzipan, and sugar sculptures adorned the tables of caliphs.

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Europe’s Sweet Awakening: Crusaders, Venice, and “White Gold”

Europe’s taste for sugar began with the Crusades. When Crusaders returned from the Levant in the 12th century, they brought back tales of “sweet salt” and caravans laden with sugar. Venice, already a hub of Mediterranean trade, seized the opportunity. By the 13th century, Venetian merchants dominated the sugar trade, importing it from Arab territories and coining the Italian term zucchero, which evolved into the French sucre and English sugar.

?Yet sugar remained a luxury. Only royalty and the elite could afford it, using it sparingly in medicines or as a spice. Medieval European texts, like the Tacuinum Sanitatis, praised sugar’s healing properties—claiming it cured chest ailments and “strengthened the mind.”

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The Atlantic Plantation Revolution

The 15th century marked a dark turn in sugar’s history. Portuguese explorers, seeking to bypass Venetian monopolies, established sugarcane plantations on Madeira and the Canary Islands. Enslaved indigenous peoples and later Africans toiled in fields and mills, producing sugar for Europe’s growing appetite.

In 1493, Christopher Columbus carried sugarcane seedlings to Hispaniola (modern Haiti/Dominican Republic), igniting the Caribbean’s sugar boom. By 1516, Hispaniola had become the Americas’ foremost sugar producer. The Portuguese followed suit in Brazil, perfecting wind- and animal-powered mills that crushed cane more efficiently. Sugar plantations, reliant on enslaved labor, became engines of colonial wealth, fueling the Triangular Trade—European goods to Africa, enslaved Africans to the Americas, and sugar to Europe.

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Sugar’s Linguistic Journey: From ?arkarā to Jaggery

As sugar traversed continents, so did its name. The Sanskrit ?arkarā birthed the Persian shakar and Arabic sukkar, which medieval Latin adopted as succarum. By the 13th century, Old French transformed it into sucre, finally giving England the word sugar.

Meanwhile, in South India, the Kannada and Malayalam term sakkare journeyed west with Portuguese traders. By the 16th century, the Portuguese had anglicized it to jaggery, a term still used today for unrefined cane sugar.

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The Industrial Sweet Tooth: From Luxury to Staple

The 18th century’s Industrial Revolution mechanized sugar production. Steam-powered mills replaced oxen, and European demand skyrocketed. By 1800, the British consumed 18 pounds of sugar annually per capita—up from 4 pounds in 1700. Sugar sweetened tea, baked goods, and jams, becoming a working-class staple.

Napoleon’s blockade of British trade routes in the early 1800s spurred another innovation: beet sugar. European scientists extracted sugar from beets, freeing the continent from tropical dependencies. By the 19th century, beet sugar rivaled cane, democratizing sweetness further.

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Sugar’s Bitter Legacy: Exploitation and Resistance

Behind sugar’s sweetness lay immense suffering. Enslaved Africans endured brutal conditions on plantations, their labor fueling Europe’s economy. Abolitionists like William Fox in Britain highlighted sugar’s human cost, sparking boycotts. After slavery’s abolition in the 19th century, indentured laborers from India and China replaced enslaved workers, continuing cycles of exploitation.

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Sugar in the Modern World: Health and Equity

Today, India and Brazil lead global sugar production, but the industry faces scrutiny. Health crises like diabetes and obesity are linked to overconsumption, prompting shifts toward alternatives like stevia and monk fruit. Meanwhile, fair trade movements advocate for equitable wages in sugarcane farming, challenging the exploitative legacies of the past.

From the Sanskrit ?arkarā to the modern spoonful, sugar’s journey is a testament to human ingenuity—and inhumanity. It shaped empires, inspired revolutions, and connected continents, yet its story is also one of resilience. As we savor its sweetness, we remember the hands that harvested it, the cultures that refined it, and the enduring quest to balance pleasure with justice.

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