Convincing Europeans to eat potatoes was not easy. At different times in history, they became both a rescue and a doom for them.

What are our first associations with potatoes? French fries, chips? Gamers are probably familiar with the term "potato pc". But what do we really know about this vegetable?

The potato's path to Europe

Where did potatoes come from in Europe at all? From South America . It is possible that they came on conquistadors' ships led by the infamous Francisco Pizarro. They were to come across them in what is now Peru. It was supposed to happen in the 30s of the 16th century. (According to other opinions, it happened some 30–40 years later). Interestingly, the British also claim the right to be the first to bring potatoes to our continent. As Marcus Rosenlund writes in his book "When the weather changes the course of history":

they claim that it was their Sir Francis Drake who brought this tuber to the Old World during his trip around the globe . This might not be true, because Drake was making his long journey across the Pacific around the Cape of Good Hope. Potatoes that he might have had in the hold would not be suitable for planting after such a long journey .

It is possible that the potatoes arrived on conquistadors' ships

To some extent, potatoes helped Europe cope with the significant 'weather threat' of the Little Ice Age, as they are easier to grow than cereals. Potatoes also have a significant "strategic" advantage over wheat, for example. The fields sown with it are easy to burn and the tubers stay safe in the ground. They are also not afraid of even hail. The potato also beats wheat in terms of calories per hectare:23,000 to 7,500. They are also a good source of vitamins B and C. conquistadors who, while eating potatoes during their cruises, noticed that scurvy was not good for them.

Potato "superstitions"

What's with these superstitions? You could say that potatoes were considered an unclean vegetable! Claimed to cause leprosy, gas, and even ... promiscuity! For that multiply underground in the dark. It is suspicious! - we read in "When the weather changes the course of history."

In any case, religious and self-respecting people should by no means even think about eating them. They were also considered poisonous. As Rosenlund points out: is not actually [it] at all with such a great misconception: the above-ground part, especially the leaves resembling tomatoes, contains solanine which is poisonous to humans and animals .

How were Europeans convinced to eat potatoes?

The person who in France dealt with superstitions related to potatoes and contributed to their popularization was an ordinary pharmacist, Antoine-Augustin Parmentier . By the way, he made a career a little later. He became the inspector general of the French health service and introduced the first mass vaccination against smallpox . But let's go back to potatoes, the cultivation of which was forbidden in France then (from 1748). It was different, for example, in Prussia, where Parmentier was in captivity during the Seven Years' War and where Frederick II Hohenzollern himself was an ardent advocate of introducing them to the menu.

The text was created, among others based on the book by Marcus Rosenlund "When the weather changes the course of history", which has just been published by the Jagiellonian University Publishing House.

The occasion for the clever pharmacist to try to market the potato in France was the famine. It prompted the French to seek alternatives to bread. The French Academy has even announced a competition in this matter. Antoine-Augustin Parmentier won the reins, and in 1772 he published a work on the chemical composition of potatoes. Effect:Not only was he awarded, his research led to the lifting of the ban on growing potatoes. However, not everyone immediately turned to this vegetable. The potatoes had to be properly advertised . For example, Parmentier gave them to such prominent personalities as Benjamin Franklin and Antoine Laurent de Lavoisier.

Potato tricks

The enterprising pharmacist was also supposed to resort to all sorts of tricks. For example, recommended that royal guards be placed right next to the potato crop. What for? Marcus Rosenlund in his book "When the weather changes the course of history" explains:

To create the impression that there is something important and valuable there. Apparently, the best way to convince the French of something is not to do it. Which, at least in this case, seems to be true. Soon, the Parisians discover that the fields are unguarded at night, and then they take advantage of the opportunity in large numbers and go to the Parmentier crops. Moreover, the guards are instructed to get bribed by anyone who wants to steal a few potatoes during the day .

The person who contributed to the spread of potatoes in France was an ordinary pharmacist, Antoine-Augustin Parmentier

The revolutionaries who followed rejected Louis XVI, but left themselves both the Parmentier and the potatoes. Their popularizer even rose to the rank of a hero. And when he died, his grave was… planted with potato seedlings.

Wrong potato + bad weather =plague

After the events of the mid-nineteenth century, the Irish recall potatoes, and specifically one variety of them, unequivocally. And potatoes were very important to this country back then. They covered about 60% of the population's nutrient requirements . For 1/3 of cattle, they were the most important source of food. We even managed to find a variety that was perfect for Irish conditions. It yielded abundant crops even in soil that was barren and waterlogged. Unfortunately, it later became the cause of ... hunger in Ireland. The more so because its cultivation was actually a monoculture. And the weather in this case has tragically written down the pages of history. What exactly happened? Marcus Rosenlund describes:

The summer of 1845 is cold and humid. These are ideal conditions for the development of fungal-like oomycetes that are beginning to spread here . Phytophthora infestans , or potato blight . The spores germinate on the leaves of the seedlings and the rain flushes them into the soil where they infect the tubers. So when Irish peasants are due to harvest potatoes this year, all they have to do is blackish goo when the stems are pulled out on their hands. Soon the famine begins in earnest .

Over a million people died from the great famine in Ireland.

Its scale was enormous. More than a million people have died from the famine. One and a half million more emigrated mainly to the USA. The potato blight continued in the following years. The situation was made worse by severe, frosty winters. But the problem was also that the United Kingdom, to which Ireland was subject at the time, had not responded properly. Or, rather, she hardly reacted at all. Why? By the attitude of the British political class at the time.

Peanuts

Well - according to Rosenlund: it is about the then political trend - laissez-faire (French:Laissez-faire - let me do), the predecessor of our present-day neoliberalism. The government in London is convincingly pursuing a policy which assumes that power should interfere with the economy as little as possible . So, for example, no one is interfering with the fact that Ireland continues to export large quantities of grain and dairy products to England, even when the famine is at its worst. Nor is much attention paid to eateries for the poor, or to supporting emigration for those who cannot afford to buy a ticket to America on their own. According to laissez-faire, such a thing is not the responsibility of the state .

Potatoes in the 16th century helped Europe cope with the weather.

The crisis began to end only in 1849, but it remained in the minds of the Irish. The British government is often identified as the culprits. Some Irish even accuse him of genocide in this context. Even Tony Blair apologized for this policy of Great Britain.

Potatoes in the 16th century helped Europe cope with the weather. In Ireland in the nineteenth century, they definitely lost against it. Nevertheless, they have become a permanent item in our menu. Remember that next time we eat, for example, French fries, called pommes frites in French ie… deep-fried apples, because potatoes are pommes de terre which is just ground apples.

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Bibliography

1. P. Badyna, Selected stories of the potato - Frederick II and the Polish lands from the 17th to the mid-19th century , "Culture - History - Globalization", No. 18/2015.
2. S. Brejnak, Narratives of Hunger or Narratives of Hunger? , "Przestrzenie Teorii", no. 33/2020.
3. M. Rosenlund, When the weather changed the course of history , Jagiellonian University Press, Kraków 2022.
4. A treasure hidden in the ground , "Wędrowiec Świętokrzyski", No. 62/2011.
5. M. Thornton, What Caused the Irish Potato Famine? , mises.pl, accessed April 13, 2022.