1. Product history

Sugar cane has been known since prehistoric times (Neolithic), and is thought to have originated in New Guinea or Indochina. Cultivation gradually spread to neighboring islands, then to India and China. The extraction of cane sugar is attested in China around 6 centuries BC. It was Alexander the Great's expedition to the Indus around – 325 B.C. that first brought it to the attention of Europeans, and traces of it can be found in the writings of Nearchus. In ancient times, the term "rumex" was used to describe sugarcane juice used to produce strong alcohol. It was imported into Persia around the 6th century. From the 7th century onwards, the Arabs introduced it from Persia to all the territories they colonized, notably Cyprus and Crete, and as far afield as Spain in the 8th century. These large plantations were operated by slaves, a mode of production that persisted until the abolition of...