Sugar, a sweet crystallized substance, is a good that all of today's society has acquired. The uses of sugar in people's diets today are limitless. Sugar is used in desserts, drinks, as decoration and much more. Sugar can be found in almost everything sold at your local supermarket. In Great Britain, since its first introduction, sugar became the most desirable product. It was the increased use of sugar that led to the increase in tea consumption in the British diet. The English desired tea, which they purchased from trade with the Chinese. The desire for tea is one of the factors contributing to the First Opium War. It was in 1640 that the British sugar industry began when the English acquired Barbados. Sugar production began to increase during the 17th century. The original consumers of the first sugar produced by the British colonies were themselves British. Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries sugar consumption in the British colonies continued to increase. Sugar consumption in Britain is due to increased production by the British colonies of sugar. We can see that the English well understood the benefits of having their own sugar-producing colonies and that they also increasingly understood the growth potential of the British colonies. sugar market. It is therefore not surprising that in subsequent centuries the production of tropical goods in the colonies was linked increasingly closely to British consumption and the production of British companies and factories. As production increased, there was a decrease in the price of sugar. . It was believed that it would be more economically beneficial if sugar was obtainable by individuals of all social classes. Therefore, in 1750, the p...... middle of paper...... tea desired by British society. Therefore, if it had not been for the introduction of sugar into the English diet, the use of sugar as a sweetener may not have been established. In fact, when sugar was added to tea, a new habit began. This habit of drinking tea, in a way, was as addictive as opium to Chinese society. They were both products of plants that were ingested. Both were also used as weapons against each other; it was a struggle for power over each other. China used tea to monopolize trade, and Britain used opium to break down and weaken the Chinese and eventually gain favorable trade with China. This would therefore give Britain unlimited accessibility to tea. Sugar intensified the habit of drinking tea. Sugar affected British society so widely that over time it would influence conflicts between two nations. These conflicts led to the Opium Wars.