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The story of sugar begins several thousand years ago people on riverbanks in Papua New Guinea, where people harvested the stems of wild sugar cane, and chewed the stems for their sweet juice. Sugar cane spread from Papua New Guinea throughout the South Pacific, Southeast Asia and mainland Asia through trade and by human migration. The story of sugar has three major parts: 1) the movement of sugarcane from Papua New Guinea westward through Asia, into Europe and then to the Americas; 2) the spread of sugar cane east by the Polynesians ; and then the discovery of the sugar beet in Europe.
Sugar Cane Moves West
The earliest written description of sugar cane is found in Indian writings dating to 1400-1000 B.C., but it was not until the 5th century B.C. when people developed the process of making the granulated sugar we know today. In the 4th century B.C., Alexander the Great brought knowledge of sugar back to Macedonia from his journeys to India, Egypt and the Asia Minor. It took over one thousand years, however, before sugar was a common product in Europe.
Fun Fact:
Most names for sugar, west of India come from the Sanskrit word sarkara meaning " grit, or gravel" (presumably crystallized sugar).
 The famous Greek physician, Pedanius Dioscorides, who served the Roman Emperor Nero during the 1st century A.D. praised the medicinal benefits of cane sugar. Dioscorides' famous manuscript, De Materia Medica, was considered the authority on medicinal plants for nearly sixteen centuries. In De Materia Medica he describes sugar as "good for the belly and stomach being dissolved in water and so drank; helping the pained bladder and the veins." Sugar was only known by, or accessible to, a privileged few.
The value of sugar extended beyond its medicinal qualities. For example, in the 4th century A.D., Chinese used sugar as currency. Hard sugar cakes in the form of men and animals were called "stone money." Over the next several centuries, people worked to invent an efficient sugar-making process, and those who discovered sugar, wanted more.
By the 9th century A.D., Egyptians were commercially manufacturing sugar. The Egyptian supply was unstable, however, so they continued to rely on the sugar trade. The sugar trade was an expensive and dangerous effort. The sugar supply was far below demand, and since sugar was perishable, the transport had to be efficient. In order to get priority at unloading docks, ships transporting sugar would raise red sails. These brightly colored sails also attracted the attention of pirates, however, and much of the precious cargo did not reach port.
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