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Sugar cultivation on the Madeira and Canary Islands allowed prospectors to operate a successful and open market from the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries. Factors such as warm climates, rich soil, and nearby sources of water contributed to the growth of sugar cane fields (Vierira, 43, 47). With an abundance of sugar on their land to harvest, sugar cultivators were able to make a significant profit off of their crops. Due to a lack of local labor sources, slaves were imported from Africa to work in the sugar mills (Vierira, 57). As a consequence, a mass market for slaves began to emerge to keep up with outside demand for sugar. Foreign investors such as the Italians and Flemish began to occupy the Madeira and Canary Islands in order to bring sugar crops to the Europe (Vierira, 63). On international competition, I agree with Andre that many Europeans scrambled to take over land in the Atlantic and use it to further expand their empire (http://courses.shroutdocs.org/hist410-fall2016/course-blog). By becoming involved in commerce in Atlantic spaces, Europeans attempted to prove that their empire was more mighty than others and hopefully establish a permanent settlement for future business operations. Invading and taking advantage of non-European spaces provided many opportunities for foreigners to generate success for their home countries. By establishing successful businesses catering to international trade, sugar merchants generated more open commerce for sugar products to meet the demands of the European market. Trade networks between Europe and the Atlantic led to foreign investors becoming central participants in the sugar market, as well as giving them opportunities to settle in Atlantic spaces (Vierira, 67). Madeira and the Canary Islands grew to have a booming sugar industry and were the focal points of sugar trade. During the sixteenth century, however, competition from Brazil began to affect the islands’ prominence in the sugar industry (Vierira, 72).
Concerning the impact of environmental imperialism, sugar cultivators offered to burn acres of forests so they would have more territory to grow sugar cane. There was also a possibility that burning land would have a negative effect on others’ cane fields (Vieira, 51-52). This section reminded me of Richard Grove’s work Green Imperialism, when he refers to the harm of human expansion on the environment (Grove, 2). Prospectors’ destruction of nature to initiate business ventures deeply affects their surroundings even if they are not aware of the damage being done. By this process, investors begin to conquest land, trade, and the goods market by exploiting territory to generate profit from their cash crops.