Are you wondering about the historical journey of the potato, which is mostly new to be consumed in our country? We take a closer look at the history of the potato, which led to the development of Europe, the end of famine and more.
There are foods that humans have consumed for thousands of years. These foods can be products such as milk, eggs, meat obtained from animals, as well as plants from agricultural lands. Well, do you know that there is a plant that has taken a place on the table of every house in some way and has made a great contribution to the formation of today’s history? Whether you bake it in the oven, its salad or its juicy dish; It is known for its satisfying feature as well as being able to suit all tastes with its numerous varieties. We’re talking about potatoes.
So, what happened that the potato changed the fate of the whole world? Potato, which has been consumed by people for more than 8 thousand years, is not a vegetable that has been consumed for many years in a large part of the world as it is thought. Found in the Americas, the potato was brought to Europe by Spanish sailors. This plant species, which was only found in the South American continent before the 1530s, was later replaced by the Spanish general Francisco Pizarro It was brought to Europe and later spread all over the world. In fact, this journey of the potato did not only happen on Earth, It also went down in history as the first plant grown in space. Just like we saw in the movie The Martian, it is expected that people who will live in the first Mars colonies, which we expect to be real in the coming years, will also be the staple food.
First of all, let’s get to know the potato: This miraculous plant has a journey with people, so don’t ask…
Potato, which is indispensable for fast food restaurants today, although it seems like a harmful food, in its thousands of years of history. saved millions of lives. Potato, native to South America, is located in the Andes Mountains. It began to be cultivated by the Inca Indians in the Peruvian region. Potato, a vegetable known to have a history of 8 thousand years, was used in many different ways before it was domesticated by humans. toxic effects It was a plant.
After the wars, this tribe, who had to go to the high hills where agriculture was difficult, discover the flowering root plants that grow on the foot of the mountain. These extremely fast-growing root crops can be eaten by herd animals, but when humans eat them raw. they were poisoned.
At first, when they cook and eat this root plant, poisoning results are experienced. Researching how animals eat this plant, the tribe finds that llamas lick their clay soil before eating this plant. After seeing this, people threw these root crops in the oven and clay soil they pour. With this method, they get rid of the toxic toxins of root plants. The tribe, which also grows less toxic potatoes in the future, continues to consume toxic species that grow in colder regions without any problems.
Although today’s potatoes have become uniform, at the International Potato Center in Peru about 5000 varieties continue to be kept under protection.
How did the potato spread around the world?
After the discovery of the new world with Christopher Columbus, Spaniards they understand the value of this plant with high nutritional value that grows under the ground and bring it to Europe. The potato, which was not widely accepted by the public at first, and was even considered to be the chief culprit of the epidemics, became a popular plant over time. Especially Because it can adapt to all kinds of weather conditions and catch up quickly. Potato, which was used to feed the armies, was not accepted by the people at first, but with the influence of some political events, the people adopted this plant over time.
The potato, which was opened to the world with the acceptance of the people in Europe, is waiting for the 19th century to become widespread in the rest of the Mediterranean basin. your potato His arrival in Turkey took place in the 1850s through Russia, the Caucasus and Europe.
How did the potato lift Ireland first and then push it to the bottom?
One of the fastest adopters of potatoes Ireland has increased its population from 1 million to 8 million in 200 years, but faced the wrath of the potato for investing in a single resource. A plant that dried the entire potato harvest in Ireland between 1845 and 1852. mushrooms appeared. This type of fungus, which appeared in Ireland and other potato growing countries, caused famine in all countries, especially Ireland.
Due to this famine, mostly in Northern Europe, more than 1 million people lost their lives in Ireland, while more than 2 million migrated to other countries, especially the USA. The potato, which had been Ireland’s main food for years, had condemned a whole country to famine in its absence. After this famine period, which was a lesson to Ireland and other countries, the pesticide process began. DDT and similar agricultural poisons In general, it was invented to protect the potato, then it became a huge industry. Apart from the fungi that afflicted the potatoes, insects also did a lot of damage, so agricultural poisons became widespread. It was discovered in the following years that these poisons cause serious harm to humans and animals.
How potatoes shaped the world
You may still be wondering how the potato shaped the world. Let’s explain this situation right away. After the discovery of the Americas, vegetables such as potatoes, corn and fertilizer trade, which Peru had a monopoly, revolutionized agriculture. Thanks to these vegetables that saved Europe from hunger While the world was unable to feed less than 1 billion people in the 1700s, it has increased the living standards of the world by 2-3 times today, which has exceeded 7 billion people.
Today, from fried to boiled, pureed to salad Potatoes cooked in more than 200 ways, is among the first vegetables that come to mind when we say food. We tried to talk about the impact of the potato on modern history. The potato, which reduced the human need in the field of agriculture and eliminated the problem of famine in the industrialization process of people, also helped modern history come to this day. In addition, although it is such a vegetable among us, its joining us can be considered much newer than other vegetables.
So, do you like potatoes? Has the history of this plant, which can be consumed in countless ways, from potato chips to salad, caught your attention? If you want more content like this, you can share it with us in the comments section.