Sugar factory in Antigua. 19th-century artwork of slaves and factory managers in the boiling house on a British sugar plantation in Antigua in the Caribbean. This plantation was owned by an Admiral Tallemach. Sugar cane plants are harvested and processed to extract sugary juices. After clarification with lime, the juice is boiled in successively smaller vats. The resulting viscous liquid (molasses) is ladled into a trough and allowed to cool in flat areas (at right). Artwork by William Clark from 'Ten Views in the Island of Antigua' (1823).