History 2158A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Tuber, Spanish Road, West Java
16 May 2018
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How the Potato Changed the World
Solanum tubersom
●Likely originated around southern Peru
●The peoples of the Andes still cultivate hundreds of various types of potatoes
●Botanically, the potato is a tuber, a large underground stem like a turnip
○Adaptable to a number of environmental conditions
○Some cool weather and some moist weather
○Grow around the world, almost anywhere
○Quick to mature
○Almost entirely unimpacted by frost
○Nutritious, having almost all the calories and vitamins you need to live on
○The main problem: they don’t last very long
■Peoples in the andes found a way around that
■During the night they would bring them out of the ground to freeze (mountain height), then thaw
during the day (hot in South America), having the water stomped out of them, and repeat = Chuno
●Stable, nutritious, non-perishable food supply
●The process of making it never left South America
Potosi
●Spanish encountered potato
●Spanish found the mountain Potosi, which held one of the most elevated cities in the world
●Contained one of the largest silver mine, fueled by chuno which fed the workers and slaves who worked it
The Spread of the Spud
●First arrived in Spain in about 1549
●Not viewed very favourably by Europeans
○Partially because the potato comes from the same family as a plant used in Europe commonly used as poison
○No idea what to do with tubers
○Peasants were reluctant to change because if the new thing didn’t work they would starve
Document Summary
The peoples of the andes still cultivate hundreds of various types of potatoes. Botanically, the potato is a tuber, a large underground stem like a turnip. Adaptable to a number of environmental conditions. Nutritious, having almost all the calories and vitamins you need to live on. The main problem: they don"t last very long. Peoples in the andes found a way around that. During the night they would bring them out of the ground to freeze (mountain height), then thaw during the day (hot in south america), having the water stomped out of them, and repeat = chuno. The process of making it never left south america. Spanish found the mountain potosi, which held one of the most elevated cities in the world. Contained one of the largest silver mine, fueled by chuno which fed the workers and slaves who worked it.
