Global sugar production by area of origin 1456-1894
transatlantic slave trade that would produce the majority of Europe's sugar for the next 400 years, and drastically change humanity's diet until the present day.
In medieval Europe, sugar was viewed as a luxury product that was usually imported form Asia. At the time, it was near impossible to cultivate sugar anywhere in Europe, apart from more tropical areas such as Cyprus. This all changed in the 15th century, however, as the Iberian powers began exploring and colonizing the coast of Africa, in search of sea routes to Asia. The (often uninhabited) islands of the Canaries, Madeira, and São Tomé were then claimed by the Iberians, who established sugar plantations on their new overseas territories, and used captured Africans as slave labor to mass produce sugar for European markets. This system would set the precedent for triangular trade and the