türkçe links to original Turkish article by Prof. Dr. Ural Akbulut
(Milliyet Newspaper)
Historical game-changer.
Thanks to the discovery of the potato on the American continent,
Europeans became acquainted with the vegetable and the poor were
saved from hunger. At one point, the only food of 40% of the Irish
population was the potato. After America was discovered, vegetables
like tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins, corn and potatoes spread around
the world. The most important of these was the potato, which had
been the key food of people in the region of Peru for 8-10,000 years.
In the aftermath of Columbus's discovery of America, the Spanish
were keen to seize Aztec gold and Captain Hernando Cortes reached
the Aztecs' region of Mexico in 1519, launching attacks on them the
following year. The Aztec Emperor Montazuma gave Cortes gifts
and gold but Cortes murdered the Emperor anyway and then fled.
Similarly, Spanish Captain Francisco Pizarro, who reached Panama
in 1513 and made a number of voyages along South America's west
coast, took the Inca Emperor hostage and got a room full of gold in
return in 1533. Pizarro killed the Inca Emperor and established
the city of Lima, where he himself was assassinated in 1541.
Accidental potato merchants.
Pizarro and his men saw potatoes for the first time in Peru and a
ship returning to Spain in 1560 brought potatoes, which then
thrived in the cool climate along Spain's northern coast. Fishermen
on long voyages in the North Atlantic Ocean took potatoes along
for food and upon reaching Ireland in 1600, some of the Irish began
to farm potatoes. The Irish climate was good for potatoes and the
vegetable provided the people with food during the otherwise barren
winter.
The 30 Years War (1618-1648) in Europe sparked famine, as armies
seized villagers' crops, leaving them hungry. The Germans were
worst affected and a third of the population died. Thanks to potatoes,
though, the Spanish were well-fed. Cultivation of potatoes in Belgium
and Holland began in the 1600s and seeing the crop's value, kings
encouraged potato planting all over Europe. By the 1740s, potatoes
were alleviating winter food shortages throughout the continent.
Let them eat potatoes!
Convincing people to eat potatoes, though, was not easy: the English
Royal Academy made an announcement encouraging potato planting
in 1662; to counter the French peoples' belief that potatoes were
dangerous, Paris University declared them safe in 1771; French King
Louis XIV tacked a potato flower to his collar and Marie Antoinette
put one in her hair to show their love for the vegetable; Prussian King
Frederick the Great ordered the populace to cultivate potatoes in 1774
but the peoples' reaction was "there's no smell or taste. We won't even
feed them to animals!"; but thanks to potatoes, the German people
avoided hunger during the 7 Years War (1756-1763); Russia's
Catherine the Great ordered potato planting but the Russian Orthodox
Church opposed, declaring that "there's no mention of potatoes in the
Bible so they're against our religion!"; ultimately, in 1850, Czar
Nicholas I succeeded in getting the populace to plant potatoes.
The Irish Famine of 1847-1852.
Scientific studies show that living standards in Europe in those days
was equivalent to what it is in Bangladesh or the Cameroons today.
Consequently, famine, hunger and disease were rife in Europe then.
In regard to Ireland, which came to rely on potatoes as a diet staple,
the appearance of a fungus on potatoes in 1845 ushered in a disaster
for the island. Half the potato crop was lost and people had little
else to eat. The "Irish Potato Famine" lasted until 1852 and cost
1 million lives, forcing another 2 million to emigrate to the United
States.
In 1847, Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid decided to send the Irish
people 5,000 sterling as famine-relief but Queen Victoria asked the
Sultan to reduce his donation to 1,000 sterling because she had
donated 2,000 sterling (!). The Sultan agreed but also sent three
ships filled with wheat to Ireland, for which he received a
proclamation of thanks from the Irish people. Nevertheless,
Ireland lost half its population to death and migration because
of the famine.
Potatoes changed the fate of Europe. Thanks to the discovery of
America, and hence the potato, the people of Europe and Russia
found a healthy way to nourish themselves.
Proclamation of gratitude from Ireland to the Sultan.
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