. >> this week on lectures in talksy, robert paulett about caribbean sugar and ideas of race and slaverythe 1600s. he focuses on the island of barbados, and argues that the rise of race-based slavery was created for profit. inhabitants had to rely on other colonies for necessities like food and wood. his classes one hour and 10 minutes. prof. paulett: everyone got a free packet of sugar for stepping in the door. you don't seem particularly grateful. [applause] prof. paulett: so, we're thinking about how we are affected by the past. don't, theyople i are not my close personal friends, i like you all very much, but to do that, to hand out a quarter cup's worth of sugar, this was the middle ages in europe. it was extravagant. sugar, in the

. >> this week on lectures in history, robert paulett talks about caribbean sugar and ideas of race and slavery in the 1600s. he focuses on the island of barbados, and argues that the rise of race-based slavery was driven by the desire for profit. island was dedicated almost solely to sugar production, inhabitants had to rely on other colonies for necessities like food and wood. his class is one hour and 10 minutes. prof. paulett: everyone got a free packet of sugar for stepping in the door. you don't seem particularly grateful. so, we're thinking about how we are affected by the past. to do what i had just done, handing out a quarter cup of sugar to people who are not my close personal friends, to do that, hand out a quarter cup's worth of sugar, this was the middle ages in europe. that is an incredibly extravagant gift. sugar, in the 1300s, was a rare and expensive good. it was treated as medicine. it was prized and available only to the richest of the rich in western europe. to hand out the small amount i gave you would have been seen as an extravagant thing. today, it is so common.

. >> this week on lectures in history, robert paulett talks about caribbean sugar and ideas of race and slavery in the 1600s. he focuses on the island of barbados, and argues that the rise of race-based slavery was driven by the desire for profit. island was dedicated almost solely to sugar production, inhabitants had to rely on other colonies for necessities like food and wood. his class is one hour and 10 minutes.