Raising sugar cane could be a very profitable business, but producing refined sugar was a highly labour-intensive process. For this reason, European colonial settlers in Africa and the Americas used slaves on their plantations, almost all of whom came from Africa. If they survived the horrific conditions of transportation, slaves could expect a hard life indeed working on plantations in the Atlantic islands, Caribbean, North America, and Brazil.

? ? ? ? ? 種植甘蔗可能是一個非常有利可圖的生意，但生產(chǎn)精制糖是一個高度勞動密集的過程。因此，非洲和美洲的歐洲殖民者在他們的種植園里大量使用奴隸，這些奴隸幾乎都來自非洲。如果他們在可怕的運(yùn)輸條件下幸存下來，奴隸們可以“期待”在大西洋島嶼、加勒比海、北美和巴西的種植園里工作的艱苦生活。

The plantation system was first developed by the Portuguese on their Atlantic Island colonies and then transferred to Brazil, beginning with Pernambuco and Sao Vicente in the 1530s. With most of the workforce consisting of unpaid labour, sugar plantations made fortunes for those owners who could operate on a large enough scale, but it was not an easy life for smaller plantation owners in territories rife with tropical diseases, indigenous populations keen to regain their territories, and the vagaries of pre-modern agriculture. Nevertheless, the plantation system was so successful that it was soon adopted throughout the colonial Americas and for many other crops such as tobacco and cotton.

? ? ? ? ? 種植園首先由葡萄牙人在其大西洋島嶼殖民地發(fā)展起來，然后轉(zhuǎn)移到巴西，從1530年的伯南布哥和圣維森特開始。由于大部分勞動力都是無償勞動，糖業(yè)種植園為那些有足夠規(guī)模的業(yè)主帶來了財富，但對于那些規(guī)模較小的種植園業(yè)主來說，在充斥著熱帶疾病、熱衷于收復(fù)領(lǐng)土的原住民以及變化無常的前現(xiàn)代農(nóng)業(yè)的地區(qū)，這不是一種輕松的生活。然而，種植園是如此成功，以至于它很快被整個美洲殖民地和許多其他作物——如煙草和棉花種植所采用。

馬德拉和種植園系統(tǒng)

In the 15th century, it was the Portuguese who first adapted a plantation system for growing sugar cane (Saccharum officinarum) on a large scale. The idea was first tested following the Portuguese colonization of Madeira in 1420. Madeira, a group of unpopulated volcanic islands in the North Atlantic, had rich soil and a beneficial climate for growing sugar cane all year round. The Portuguese Crown parcelled out land or ‘captaincies’ (donatarias) to noble settlers, much like they did in the feudal system of Europe. These nobles in turn distributed parts of their estate called semarias to their followers on the condition that the land was cleared and used to grow first wheat and then, from the 1440s, sugar cane, a portion of the crop being given back to the overlord. The project was financed by Genoese bankers while technical know-how came from Sicilian advisors. It was from Sicily that the various varieties of sugar cane were brought to Madeira.

? ? ? ? ? 在15世紀(jì)，葡萄牙人首次運(yùn)用了大規(guī)模種植甘蔗（Saccharum officinarum）的種植園系統(tǒng)。這個想法在1420年葡萄牙人在馬德拉島殖民后得到了首次驗證。馬德拉是北大西洋上一群無人居住的火山島，擁有豐富的土壤和有利于全年種植甘蔗的氣候。葡萄牙王室將土地或 "captaincies"（donatarias）分給貴族定居者，就像他們在歐洲的封建制度中所做的那樣。這些貴族反過來又將其莊園的一部分分配給他們的追隨者，條件是土地被開墾并首先用于種植小麥；從1440年代開始種植甘蔗，一部分作物上貢給王室。該項目由熱那亞銀行家提供資金，而技術(shù)知識則來自西西里島的技術(shù)顧問。各種甘蔗品種正是從西西里島被帶到馬德拉的。

Sugar from Madeira was exported to Portugal, to merchants in Flanders, to Italy, England, France, Greece, and even Constantinople. By the end of the 15th century, the plantation owners knew they were on to a good thing, but their number one problem was labour. Consequently, slaves were imported from West Africa, particularly the Kingdom of Kongo and Ndongo (Angola). The scale of human traffic was relatively small, but the model was now in place that would be copied and refined elsewhere following the Portuguese colonization of the Azores in 1439, the Cape Verde Islands (1462), and S?o Tomé and Principe (1486).

? ? ? ? ? 馬德拉的糖出口給葡萄牙、佛蘭德斯的商人、意大利、英國、法國、希臘，甚至君士坦丁堡。到15世紀(jì)末，種植園主知道他們正處于一個好時機(jī)，但他們的首要問題是勞動力短缺。因此，他們從西非，特別是剛果王國和恩東戈（安哥拉）進(jìn)口奴隸。販賣人口的規(guī)模相對較小，但已經(jīng)形成一定規(guī)模，在葡萄牙于1439年對亞速爾群島、佛得角群島（1462年）以及圣多美和普林西比（1486年）進(jìn)行殖民之后，這種模式將在其他地方得到復(fù)制和完善。

S?o Tomé and Principe were really the first European colonies to develop large-scale sugar plantations employing a sizeable workforce of African slaves. The system was then applied on an even larger scale to the new colony of Portuguese Brazil from the 1530s. Within a few decades, Brazil had become the world’s largest producer of sugar. The same system was adopted by other colonial powers, notably in the Caribbean. As the historian M. Newitt notes：

? ? ? ? ? Here [S?o Tomé and Principe] the plantation system, dependent on slave labour, was developed and a monoculture established, which made it necessary for the settlers to import everything they needed, including food. Sao Tomé took on all the characteristics later assumed by the islands of the Lesser Antilles; it was a Caribbean island on the wrong side of the Atlantic. (61)

? ? ? ? ? 圣多美和普林西比確實是第一個發(fā)展大規(guī)模糖業(yè)種植園的歐洲殖民地，那里雇用了大量的非洲奴隸勞動力。從15世紀(jì)30年代開始，該系統(tǒng)被更大規(guī)模地應(yīng)用于新的殖民地葡萄牙-巴西。在幾十年內(nèi)，巴西已成為世界上最大的糖生產(chǎn)國。其他殖民國家也采用了同樣的制度，特別是在加勒比地區(qū)。正如歷史學(xué)家M. Newitt所指出的：

? ? ? ? ? 在這里[圣多美和普林西比]，依賴奴隸勞動的種植園系統(tǒng)得到了發(fā)展，并建立了單一的農(nóng)業(yè)，這使得定居者必須進(jìn)口他們所需要的一切，包括食物。圣多美具有后來小安的列斯群島的所有特征；它是一個位于大西洋一側(cè)的加勒比島國。(61)

生產(chǎn)過程

skilled and unskilled work. Fields had to be cleared and burned with the remaining ash then used as a fertilizer. Sometimes land had to be terraced, although not usually in Brazil. Irrigation networks had to be built and kept clear. A great number of planters and harvesters were required to plant, weed, and cut the cane which was ready for harvest five or six months after planting in the most fertile areas. As cane was planted each month in one part of a plantation, the harvesting was an ongoing process for much of the year, with the more intense periods requiring slaves to work night and day. Carts had to be loaded and oxen tended to take the cane to the processing plant. The sugar then had to be packed and transported to ports for shipping.

? ? ? ? ? 熟練和不熟練的工作。田地被清理和焚燒，剩余的灰燼用作肥料。有時，種植土地必須是梯田，盡管在巴西通常不是這樣。灌溉網(wǎng)絡(luò)必須建立并保持暢通。需要大量的種植者和收割者來種植、除草和砍伐甘蔗，在最肥沃的地區(qū)，種植后五六個月就可以收割。由于每個月在種植園的一個地方種植甘蔗，一年中的大部分時間都在進(jìn)行收割，更緊張的時期需要奴隸們夜以繼日地工作。手推車裝車，牛要把甘蔗送到加工廠。然后，糖被包裝并運(yùn)送到港口進(jìn)行運(yùn)輸。

All of the above tasks could be done by unskilled labour and were done mostly by slaves and a minority of paid labourers. The real problem was the process of producing sugar. As the historian A. R. Disney notes, "sugar production was one of the most complex and technologically-sophisticated agricultural industries of early modern times" (236).

? ? ? ? ? 上述所有的工作都可以由非熟練勞動力完成，而且主要由奴隸和少數(shù)有償勞動者完成。真正的問題是生產(chǎn)糖的過程。正如歷史學(xué)家A.R.迪斯尼所指出的，"糖的生產(chǎn)是現(xiàn)代早期最復(fù)雜、技術(shù)最先進(jìn)的農(nóng)業(yè)產(chǎn)業(yè)之一"（236）。

Machinery had to be built, operated, and maintained to crush and process the cane. On early plantations, hand-presses were used to crush the cane, but these were soon replaced by animal-powered presses and then windmills or, more often, watermills; hence plantations were usually located near a stream or river. To save transportation costs, plantations were located as near as possible to a port or major water route. Those plantation owners who could not afford their own mill plant used those of the larger concerns and paid a percentage of the resulting crop for the privilege. A mill plant needed anywhere from 60 to 200 workers to operate it. In addition, the refineries needed a great deal of timber as fuel for their furnaces, and providing it was another laborious task for the plantation’s slaves. Those with the skills to operate and maintain the machinery in sugar mills were much in demand, especially their chief supervisor, the sugar master, who enjoyed a high salary. Over time, as the populations of colonies evolved, mixed-race European-locals, freed slaves, and sometimes even slaves were employed in these technical positions.

? ? ? ? ? 建造、操作和維護(hù)機(jī)器來壓榨和加工甘蔗。在早期的種植園里，人們用手力壓榨甘蔗，但很快就被以動物為動力的壓榨機(jī)所取代，然后是風(fēng)車或更常見的水車；因此種植園通常位于溪流或河流附近。為了節(jié)省運(yùn)輸成本，種植園盡可能地靠近港口或主要水路。那些買不起磨坊的種植園主會使用大公司的磨坊，并為這一特權(quán)支付一定比例的收獲。一個工廠需要60到200名工人來操作。此外，精煉廠需要大量的木材作為爐子的燃料，而提供這些木材是種植園奴隸的另一項艱巨任務(wù)。那些具有操作和維護(hù)糖廠機(jī)器的技能的人很受歡迎，特別是他們的首席監(jiān)督員，即糖廠廠長，他享有高薪。隨著時間的推移，殖民地人口的發(fā)展，歐洲當(dāng)?shù)氐幕煅獌骸⒈唤夥诺呐`，有時甚至是奴隸都被雇用在這些技術(shù)崗位上。

The cut cane was placed on rollers which fed it into a crushing machine. The juice from the crushed cane was then boiled in huge vats or cauldrons. The liquid was then poured into large moulds and left to set to create conical sugar 'loaves', each 'loaf' weighing 15-20 lbs (6.8 to 9 kg). The refined sugar then had to be dried thoroughly if it was to be as white and pure as the top merchants demanded. This necessity was sometimes a problem in tropical climates. Sugar of lesser quality with a brownish colour tended to be consumed locally or was only used to make preserves and crystallised fruit. The cane leftovers from the whole process were usually given to feed pigs on the plantation.

? ? ? ? ? 切斷的甘蔗被放置在滾軸上，滾軸將其送入粉碎機(jī)中。壓碎的甘蔗的汁液然后在大桶或大鍋中煮沸。然后將液體倒入大模具中，待其凝固，形成圓錐形的糖 "餅"，每個 "餅 "重15-20磅（6.8-9公斤）。然后，精制糖必須等徹底干燥，才能達(dá)到頂級商人所要求的白色和純凈。在熱帶氣候條件下，這種必要性有時是個問題。質(zhì)量較差、呈褐色的糖往往在當(dāng)?shù)叵M(fèi)，或只用于制作蜜餞和水果結(jié)晶。整個過程中剩下的甘蔗通常被用來喂養(yǎng)種植園里的豬。

種植園的奴隸生活

Slaves could be acquired locally but in places like Portuguese Brazil, enslaving the Amerindians was prohibited from 1570. Most plantation slaves were shipped from Africa, in the case of those destined for Portuguese colonies, to a holding depot like the Cape Verde Islands. Here they were given a number of basic lessons in Portuguese and Christianity, both of which made them more valuable if they survived the voyage to the Americas. These lessons also eased traders’ consciences that they were somehow benefitting the slaves and giving them the opportunity of what they considered eternal salvation.

? ? ? ? ? 奴隸可以在當(dāng)?shù)孬@得，但在葡萄牙巴西等地，從1570年起禁止奴役美洲印第安人。大多數(shù)種植園的奴隸都是從非洲運(yùn)來的，如果是運(yùn)往葡萄牙殖民地的奴隸，則被運(yùn)到佛得角群島這樣的收容所。在這里，他們接受了一些葡萄牙語和基督教的基本課程，如果他們在前往美洲的航程中幸存下來，這兩方面都會使他們更有價值。這些課程也緩解了商人的良心，他們在某種程度上有利于奴隸，讓他們有機(jī)會獲得他們認(rèn)為的“永恒的救贖”。

Brazil was by far the largest importer of slaves in the Americas throughout the 17th century. When Brazilian sugar production was at its peak from 1600 to 1625, 150,000 African slaves were brought across the Atlantic. One in five slaves never survived the horrendous conditions of transportation onboard cramped, filthy ships. The voyage to Rio was one of the longest and took 60 days. Once at the plantation, their treatment depended on the plantation owner who had paid to have them transported or bought the slaves at auction locally. It was not uncommon to give new arrivals a whipping just to show them, if they had not already realised, that their owners had no more sympathy for their situation than the cattle they owned. Slaves were thereafter supervised by paid labour, usually armed with whips. A watchtower was a feature of many plantations to ensure work schedules and rates were kept and to guard against external attacks.

? ? ? ? ? 整個17世紀(jì)，巴西是迄今為止美洲最大的奴隸進(jìn)口國。從1600年到1625年，當(dāng)巴西的糖生產(chǎn)處于高峰期時，15萬非洲奴隸被帶過大西洋。在狹窄、骯臟的船上，五分之一的奴隸在可怕的運(yùn)輸條件下失去生命。到里約的航行是最長的航行之一，需要60天。一旦到了種植園，他們的待遇取決于支付了運(yùn)輸費(fèi)用或在當(dāng)?shù)嘏馁u中購買奴隸的種植園主。對新來的奴隸進(jìn)行鞭打是很常見的，如果他們還沒有意識到，他們的主人對他們的處境并不比他們擁有的牛更同情。此后，奴隸們受到有償勞動者的監(jiān)督，他們通常配備了鞭子。瞭望臺是許多種植園的一個特點(diǎn)，以確保奴隸們的工作時間表和費(fèi)率得到遵守，并防止外部攻擊。

Slaves had to learn the local pidgin such as creole Portuguese in Brazil. They typically lived in family units in rudimentary villages on the plantations where their freedom of movement was severely restricted. In many colonies, there were professional slave-catchers who hunted down those slaves who had managed to escape their plantation.

? ? ? ? ? 奴隸們必須學(xué)習(xí)當(dāng)?shù)氐钠J語，如巴西的克里奧爾葡萄牙語。他們通常以家庭為單位生活在種植園的簡陋村莊里，他們的行動自由受到嚴(yán)格的限制。在許多殖民地，有專業(yè)的捕奴員負(fù)責(zé)追捕那些設(shè)法逃離種植園的奴隸。

Slaves lived in simple mud huts or wooden shacks with little more than matting for beds and only rudimentary furniture. Some owners permitted marriages between slaves - formal or informal - while others actively separated couples. A problem for all male slaves was the fact that there were far more of them than females brought from Africa. On Portuguese plantations, perhaps one in three slaves were women, but the Dutch and English plantation owners preferred a male-only workforce when possible.

? ? ? ? ? 奴隸們住在簡單的泥屋或木棚里，除了用墊子做床，只有簡陋的家具。一些奴隸主允許奴隸之間的婚姻--正式或非正式的--而其他奴隸主則積極地將夫妻分開。對所有男性奴隸來說，他們的數(shù)量遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)多于從非洲帶來的女性。在葡萄牙的種植園里，也許每三個奴隸中就有一個是女性，但荷蘭和英國的種植園主在可能的情況下更傾向于只雇用男性勞動力。

Slaves were permitted at weekends to grow food for their own sustenance on small plots of land. Food raised by slaves included manioc, sweet potatoes, maize, and beans, with pigs kept to provide occasional meat. The diet was unvaried and meant to be as cheap for the owner as possible. The lack of nutrition, hard working conditions, and regular beatings and whippings meant that the life expectancy of slaves was very low, and the annual mortality rate on plantations was at least 5%.

? ? ? ? ? 奴隸們在周末被允許在小塊土地上種植食物以維持自己的生計。奴隸們種植的食物包括木薯、紅薯、玉米和豆子，并飼養(yǎng)豬來偶爾提供肉類。飲食沒有變化，目的是為了盡可能地減少主人的成本。營養(yǎng)不足，工作條件艱苦，經(jīng)常被毆打和鞭打，這意味著奴隸的預(yù)期壽命非常低，種植園的年死亡率至少為5%。

種植園主的生活

Plantation owners obviously had a much better life than the slaves who worked for them, and if successful in their estate management, they could live lives far superior to anything they could have expected back in Europe. With household slaves and personal attendants, the wealthiest white Europeans could afford a life of ease surrounded by the best things money could buy such as a large villa, the finest clothing, exotic furniture of the best materials, and imported artworks by Flemish masters. With profits at only around 10-15% for sugar plantation owners, most, however, would have lived more modest lives and only the owners of very large or multiple estates lived a life of luxury. This latter group included those who lived in towns and not on their plantations, nobles who never even visited the colony, and religious institutions. It is also true that, just as with farming today, most of the profits in the sugar industry went to the shippers and merchants, not the producers. Finally, states-imposed taxes on sugar. In short, ownership of a plantation was not necessarily a golden ticket to success.

? ? ? ? ? 種植園主的生活顯然比為他們工作的奴隸要好得多，如果他們的莊園管理成功，他們可以過上遠(yuǎn)超他們在歐洲所能期望的任何生活。有了家庭奴隸和私人服務(wù)員，最富有的歐洲白人可以負(fù)擔(dān)得起輕松的生活，周圍是金錢可以買到的最好的東西，如大別墅、最好的衣服、最好材料的異國家具和佛蘭德大師的進(jìn)口藝術(shù)品。然而，由于糖廠老板的利潤只有10-15%左右，大多數(shù)人都會過著比較簡樸的生活，只有那些非常大的或多個莊園的老板才會過上奢侈的生活。后一類人包括那些住在城鎮(zhèn)而不是種植園里的人，那些甚至從未去過殖民地的貴族，以及宗教機(jī)構(gòu)。事實也是如此，就像今天的農(nóng)業(yè)一樣，制糖業(yè)的大部分利潤都流向了托運(yùn)人和商人，而不是生產(chǎn)商。最后，各州對糖業(yè)征稅。簡而言之，擁有種植園并不一定是通往成功的黃金門票。

There were some serious problems, then, to be faced by plantation owners. There were the challenges of growing any kind of crops in tropical climates in the pre-modern era: soil exhaustion, storm damage, and losses to pests - insects that bored into the roots of sugarcane plants were particularly bothersome. A large capital outlay was required for machinery and labour many months before the first crop could be sold. Food crops had to be grown to feed the paid labour, technicians, and the owner’s family. Another constant worry was unfamiliar tropical diseases which often proved fatal with the colonists, and particularly new arrivals. All of these factors conspired to create a situation where plantations changed ownership with some frequency.

? ? ? ? ? 當(dāng)時，種植園主面臨著一些嚴(yán)重的問題。在前現(xiàn)代時期的熱帶氣候下，種植任何種類的作物都面臨著挑戰(zhàn)：土壤枯竭、風(fēng)暴破壞和蟲害損失——鉆入甘蔗植物根部的昆蟲尤其令人煩惱。在第一茬作物可以出售之前，需要大量的機(jī)械和勞動力的資本支出。必須種植糧食作物來養(yǎng)活有償勞動者、技術(shù)人員和主人的家庭。另一個持續(xù)的擔(dān)憂是陌生的熱帶疾病，這些疾病常常被證明對殖民者——特別是新來的殖民者是致命的。這些因素的影響，造成了種植園頻繁更換所有權(quán)的局面。

Another major risk to the sugar planters was rebellions by the slaves. Although slaves had only tools as potential weapons, there was usually no centralised military presence to aid plantation owners who often had to rely on organising militia forces themselves. There were many instances of slave uprisings resulting in the deaths of the plantation owner, their family, and slaves who had remained loyal to their owner. Wars with other Europeans were another threat as the Spanish, Dutch, British, French, and others jostled for control of the New World colonies and to expand their trade interests in the Old one.

? ? ? ? ? 糖業(yè)種植園主的另一個主要風(fēng)險是奴隸叛亂。雖然奴隸們只有工具作為潛在的武器，但通常沒有集中的軍事力量來幫助種植園主維護(hù)秩序，他們往往不得不依靠自己組織民兵部隊。有很多奴隸起義的例子，導(dǎo)致種植園主、他們的家人和對主人忠誠的奴隸死亡。與其他歐洲人的戰(zhàn)爭是另一個威脅，因為西班牙、荷蘭、英國、法國和其他國家爭相控制新世界殖民地，并擴(kuò)大他們在舊世界的貿(mào)易利益。

Then there were the indigenous people who might have been subdued by initial military campaigns but, nevertheless, remained in many places a significant threat to European settlements. At the same time, local populations had to be wary of regular slave-hunting expeditions in such places as Brazil before the practice was prohibited. The clash of cultures, warfare, missionary work, European-born diseases, and wanton destruction of ecosystems, ultimately caused the disintegration of many of these indigenous societies. Sugar and the people who reaped its profits, like many industries before and since, caused massive disruption and destruction, changing forever both the people and places where plantations were established, managed, and all too often abandoned.

? ? ? ? ? 然后是原住民，他們可能已經(jīng)被最初的軍事行動所征服，但在許多地方仍然是對歐洲定居點(diǎn)的一個重大威脅。同時，在巴西等地，在禁止獵奴的做法之前，當(dāng)?shù)鼐用癫坏貌粚Χㄆ讷C奴的探險隊保持警惕。文化的沖突、戰(zhàn)爭、傳教士的工作、來自歐洲的疾病以及對生態(tài)系統(tǒng)的肆意破壞，最終導(dǎo)致了許多這些原住民社會的解體。像之前和之后的許多行業(yè)一樣，糖和獲取其利潤的人造成了大規(guī)模的破壞和毀滅，永遠(yuǎn)地改變了建立和管理種植園的人和地方，而且這些種植園常常被遺棄。

參考書目：

Disney, A. R. A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire, Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Disney, A. R. A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire, Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Newitt, Malyn. The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415–1670. Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Oliver, Roland. The Cambridge History of Africa, Vol. 3. Cambridge University Press, 1977.

Russell-Wood, A. J.R. The Portuguese Empire, 1415-1808. JHUP, 1998.

Subrahmanyam, Sanjay. The Career and Legend of Vasco da Gama. Cambridge University Press, 1998.

原文作者：Mark Cartwright

????????? 駐意大利的歷史作家。他的主要興趣包括陶瓷、建筑、世界神話和發(fā)現(xiàn)所有文明的共同思想。他擁有政治哲學(xué)碩士學(xué)位，是《世界歷史百科全書》的出版總監(jiān)。

原文網(wǎng)址：https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1795/life-on-a-colonial-sugar-plantation/