Select annotated bibliography entry
Hall, Kim F. The Sweet Taste of Empire: Sugar, Mastery, and Pleasure in the Anglo Caribbean. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025.
Examines the commodity of sugar in England and the Caribbean during the 17th century. Hall outlines sugar’s transformation from royal luxury to household staple and the links between Caribbean plantation production and English national identity and domestic life. Hall argues that literary and culinary expressions of sweetness masked racialized labor and created a discourse of white innocence. The work engages in the study of global trade, the Caribbean, agrarian fantasy, and anti-slavery efforts.
