From Crop to Crystal – Sugar Beets and the Transformation of the Habsburg Empire, 1848 – 1914
Zgodovina na Špici / History on the Edge
You are kindly invited to the new event of the History on the Edge series, which will take place on Wednesday, 18 December 2024 at 13:00, at the INZ premises or at the ZOOM link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86949706378
The lecture will be given by Niklas Platzer, and the title of the lecture is “From Crop to Crystal – Sugar Beets and the Transformation of the Habsburg Empire, 1848 – 1914”. The lecture will be held in English.
From Crop to Crystal – Sugar Beets and the Transformation of the Habsburg Empire, 1848 – 1914
Beet sugar not only fundamentally changed the sugar market and consumer behaviour in the 19th century. Sugar beet cultivation massively influenced and intensified agriculture, and the beet sugar industry developed into a powerful branch of industry that influenced the reality of life in many ways. My project “From Crop to Crystal. Sugar Beet and the Transformation of the Habsburg Empire (1848/49 – 1914)” examines the transformative effects of sugar beet cultivation in the late Habsburg Empire. I pay particular attention to the relationship between agriculture and industrialization, especially industrialization through agriculture, and the importance of local and regional spaces away from urban centres. In doing so, I would also like to work out the effects of the interventions on the environment and the ecosystem of the cultivation areas in Central Europe.
The presentation will introduce the project and focus on three central questions. What made the sugar beet so exceptional? How could the beet sugar industry assert itself against the previously dominant cane sugar industry? How can we understand sugar beet as the cause and catalyst for comprehensive ecological, social, and industrial change?
