Hello,
This week’s word history is a sweet one – demerara. The word joined English in 1848 but it’s come all the way from South America. It describes “a coarse light-brown raw sugar” (Merriam Webster) and is a regular item in my baking cupboard and recipes.
Demerara is a toponym becuase it’s named for a river and historical region on the north coast of South America, an area which is now part of the country of Guyana. It was colonised by the Dutch West India Company in the 1600s for trading purposes but by the 1700s the area was known for large scale sugar plantations. By 1762 a third of the plantations were owned by the British. Control of the area moved between the Dutch, British, French, and British again in the years thereafter.
The plantations were worked by slaves of African origin in dreadful conditions which led to a large scale revolt in 1823, suppression by troops, and eventual abolition of slavery in Britain’s colonies in 1833. Guyana gained its independence from British rule in 1966. They still produce demerara and rice. The discovery of oil off their coast in 2019 has helped their economy grow in recent years.
Until next time happy reading, writing, and wordfooling,
Grace (@Wordfoolery)
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