MARTINIQUE : ROBERT MANSCOUR

The rum, this emblematic Caribbean drink has a rich and complex history, intertwined with stories of colonization, slavery and local culture. This article explores its manufacture, its evolution through the centuries and its cultural importance in the territories of the Greater Caribbean. History of sugar cane The history of rum begins in the 17th century, when European settlers introduced sugarcane to the Caribbean. Christopher Columbus is often credited with bringing the plant to the island of Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) in the late 1400s. The first sugar cane plantations were established, and sugar quickly became a valuable commodity for Europe. Rum emerges as a by-product of sugar production. Slaves working on plantations discovered that fermented sugarcane juice could be distilled to produce an alcoholic beverage. This process gave rise to terms like guildive and tafia, before the word rum became commonplace in the 18th century. The history of