Potatoes in History
From Peru to Europe to China to North America to Outer Space
Easy to grow in almost any habitat, potatoes rank as the world's fourth most important food crop after maize, wheat, and rice.
Potatoes First Cultivated in Peru
Potatoes were first cultivated about 7,000 years ago on the plateaus and slopes of the Andes Mountains. The Inca people grew them, ate them, and hid them in concealed bins for emergency use. They called them ‘papa’.
Spanish invaders encountered potatoes in 1537 during their search for gold. A Spanish explorer took some tubers to Europe in about 1565. With Spain’s organized shipment of wealth from mines in Peru, potatoes were adopted as ships’ stores.
Potatoes Introduced to Europeans
As potatoes were carried to Italy, England, Belgium, and Germany they were treated with suspicion. Many thought they were weird and poisonous. An edict forbidding their cultivation was issued in one French town.
In 1597 a British author who was an avid gardener and collector of rare plants wrote incorrectly that potatoes originated in Virginia in the New World.
Irish Potato Myth and Legend
Irish legend has it that potatoes washed ashore at the Irish coast in 1588 when the Spanish Armada was wrecked. British explorer Sir Walter Raleigh first took them to Ireland to plant at his estate near Cork in 1589.
European sailors introduced the potato to the Chinese in 1609.
Throughout the 1600s, potatoes were introduced in North America, but were not widely grown until Scottish and Irish settlers grew them and demonstrated their value in 1718.
Russia’s Frederick the Great sent free potatoes to starving peasants during the 1774 famine. They refused to eat them until soldiers were sent to convince them to do so.
In France, a chemist who recognized the nutritional benefits and productive capacity successfully introduced potatoes to sceptical farmers in 1785. He planted a large field, guarded it, and released the guards. As he hoped they would, curious local farmers went into the field and took some tubers to plant on their farms.
Potato Blight and the Great Famine of Ireland
Ireland was the first country in Europe where potatoes became the major food source. Many people in the poorest areas of the country relied entirely on them for food in the early 1800s. When the crops became diseased (The Great Famine, 1845-1849), at least one million people died of starvation or sickness. Many poor families went from Ireland to North America and Australia.
Potatoes Not Considered for Human Consumption in the United States
As recently as the middle of the 19th century, potatoes were considered by many United States residents to be unsuitable for human consumption. Recommendations were made in the Farmer’s Manual that potatoes be grown near their pens as convenient food for hogs. Potatoes became popular during the Industrial Revolution when demand was created for cheap, energy-rich, non-cereal foods.
Potatoes in the Twentieth Century
China and India produce almost one-third of the world’s potatoes.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the world’s largest potato weighed 18 pounds, 4 ounces – big enough for seventy-three portions of medium fries.
Potatoes Make History in Outer Space
The potato became the first vegetable grown in outer space. In October 1995 scientists began the work that could help NASA develop a ‘super-charged version’ of the vegetable that the Peruvian Incas treasured.
Source:
Food in History by Reay Tannahill; Stein and Day Publishers, New York 1973
The Potato Then and Now (Prince Edward Island) Library and Archives Canada
Potato Harvesting 1910
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Potatoes in the Twentieth Century
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Children Gathering Potatoes 1921
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