Sugar was indeed so expensive once that only the very wealthy could afford to become obese from it. Like spice, sugar can make mediocre-tasting food more palatable, so was highly prized. Sugar is also a preservative and so boosts our food supply, in effect. Sugar cane reached the Mediterranean from India around AD 600, and until the 16th century the sugar trade was monopolised by Arab and Venetian traders. In 1300, sugar cost around £350 a kilogram in Britain (at 2010 prices), falling below £100 by 1500 as supply grew. This was also when Europeans began seeking direct sea routes to India to avoid these monopolies, which ultimately gave rise to the colonisation of the Caribbean.
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