Medieval Cyprus was the most important center for the production and export of sugar in Europe. This activity formed the basis of the fortunes of the richest and most influential families. But then the industry declined.
Cypriot sugar was brought from the Middle East by the Crusaders. The product was highly valued and, together with olive oil and salt, was the main export product - and a bone of contention during the era of Frankish rule.
Sugar families
Sugar formed the basis of the wealth of the Lusignan era elite, whose rule lasted from the acquisition of the island by Guy de Lusignan in 1192 until 1489, when the island was ceded to Venice.
The family of Caterina Cornaro, the last queen of Cyprus, owned extensive sugar plantations on the island. Marino Sanudo, a Venetian geographer, wrote in the 14th century that “Cyprus produced such enormous quantities of sugar that it was enough for the entire Christian world.”
Sugar production in medieval Cyprus was controlled by three families, who owned all the necessary infrastructure and periodically redistributed their spheres of influence. These were the royal Lusignan dynasty, which owned the sugar factory in Kouklia (today the building is the best preserved of the others, this is the first known sugar cane plantation on the island), the Venetian Cornaro family in Kolossi and the spiritual “family” (order) of the Knights of St. John in Episkopi.
Millstone for grinding cut cane in Kouklia. Photo cyprus-mail.com Production
Plantations existed in Akantu, Lapithos, Morphou, Lefke, Polis Chrysochous, Lembe, Emba, Finikas, Ahelia Anogyra. The labor force in the sugar mills consisted of local people and sometimes foreign slaves.
Growing sugar cane and operating factories required large amounts of water. Several aqueducts were even built specifically for this purpose. Droughts were not uncommon on the island, as evidenced by one eyewitness account dated 1468: “There was a severe drought on the island of Cyprus, there was no rain at all in winter. The water in the wells dried up, the rivers lost their flow, the mills could not grind, water no longer flowed from the springs, the grass did not grow, and the animals starved.”
That year, the Knights of St. John decided to break their treaty with the Cornaro family and diverted the waters of the Curis River exclusively to their plantation, causing a huge loss of income and a worsening situation for the Cornaros. The powerful Venetian family initiated legal proceedings and eventually received compensation for financial damage.
How cotton replaced sugar
The decline of the sugar industry began in Cyprus at the end of the 16th century. About 100 years earlier, the Portuguese established plantations in the Canary and Azores Islands, and a little later in Brazil.
Sugar from the New World cost much less than Cypriot sugar, because the production involved slave labor, which was free for the colonialists. While Cyprus produced a couple of tons of sugar a year, the Portuguese increased the annual volume to 200 tons. As a result, making sugar became unprofitable. But the Turks, who by that time already owned the island, were able to get out of the situation quite quickly. They cut down all the sugar cane plantations and planted cotton in their place. Thus the “sugar era” ended on the island.
This article was first published in the Cyprus Herald on March 12, 2023. Some information may be out of date.
