HISTORY

The first references about sugarcane (Saccharum Officinarium) are about its culture in India, during the 4^th century b.C. The word “sugar” comes from sarkara, a Sanskrit word – India’s mother tongue – that means grain.
The sugarcane was called by the Persian “bamboo that gives honey without the help of bees”. In the ancient times the sugar was a spice and was also used for medical purposes.
The Arabian people were the first growers of sugarcane, which was brought to Europe by the Crusades, in the Middle Age. The Chinese, in the same time as the Arabian, used the techniques to extract sugar from the sugarcane.
In 1493, Cristóvão Colombo introduced sugar in the Caribbean islands.
The sugarcane was brought to Brazil in 1502, but only in the region of “zona da mata” in Pernambuco the culture achieved greater success, introduced by Duarte Coelho to whom the captainship was given in 1534.
The first regular cultivated field of sugar established in Pernambuco was Engenho Nossa Senhora da Ajuda, which belonged to Jerônimo de Albuquerque, in the outskirts of Olinda. The first plant was opened in January 24^th, 1887, equipped with machinery from the Mariolle Pinguet´s House, France: the model plant at the Colônia Orfanológica Isabel, with capacity to produce 5 tons of sugar/day.