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Slave Sugar
Between the 16th and 19th centuries upwards of 10 million Africans were enslaved by Europeans and transported to the ‘New World’ – arguably the most prolonged episode of savagery in human history. Many slaves did not survive the ‘middle passage’ across the Atlantic.
Those who did routinely died within a decade, since they were cheaper to replace than to feed. Not all were consumed by sugar – cotton and tobacco took their toll as well – but its production relied entirely on their labour.