How Sugar, Rum, and Slaves Shaped the Caribbean Islandsbr The Society of the Cincinnati - Monticellobr There were 26, not 13 colonies in British America at the time of the American Revolution. Many of these colonies were in the Caribbean and did not rebel. Why? Great Britain relied heavily on this region for its sugar imports, which generated great wealth for a few Caribbean planters. Unlike the North American colonists, these planters wanted the presence of Royal soldiers among them. They feared rebellion from their enslaved people, who greatly outnumbered them, and relied on the troops for protection. This economically valuable region influenced the outcome of the Revolutionary War as the British shifted naval vessels and troops to the Caribbean to defend these sugar-producing islands against possible attack by the French naval fleet.