SC - Medici Archive question-sommate di Napoli- can anyone he re help?

[Decker, Terry D.]

> wandapease at bigfoot.com writes:
> 
> << It is curious to note that the essential sugar for
>  these zuccerini and also the biscotti pisani probably came from the New
>  World by way of Spain in the first place. >>
> 
> On what premise do you base this observation?
> 
> Ras
> 
Probably because it is after 1492 and they don't know much about the history
of the sugar trade.  I would believe a more likely source for the sugar
would be the Ottomans.

In 1562, the growing Spanish sugar trade had not saturated its domestic
markets, but it was enough of a threat to the Ottoman sugar monopoly to
reduce prices.  There had been a decline in the availability of honey, an
English export, due to the closing of the monestaries (1536?) which
controlled much of the English honey production.  Spanish sugar was imported
into Northern Europe to be used as sweetener at premium prices.  Because of
the difficulties with Spain, the English continued to deal with the
Ottomans.  The Ottomans' declining customer base forced price reductions and
in turn may have been the basis for the Elizabethean love affair with sugar.


One also needs to remember that while Spanish production of sugar was a very
old business, the volume of planted land to give them a real sugar economy
was fairly new.  Sugar was planted in Spain by the Arabs in the 8th Century
and was a valuable but limited crop.  Spain expanded its sugar lands when it
took Sicily in the 13th Century.  In the 15th Century, it expanded into the
Madieras and the Canaries.  Sugar was imported into the New World in 1493
(Columbus' second voyage).  The first sugar exported from the New World was
in 1516 when six loaves were presented Carlos I.

Consideration should also be given to the Portuguese as a source.  They
introduced sugar cultivation into the Canaries, the Azores, the west coast
of Africa and Brazil.  The Brazilian plantations were so successful, that
Portugal became the world's largest sugar producer in 1583.

Bear   
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