AES10 - How the Potato Shaped Our World

For such a popular food, the potato’s significance in human history is very rarely acknowledged. Admittedly, it is bizarre to find that anybody would analyze it from a historical point of view rather than a culinary or environmental one. I was also puzzled to hear how important the potato really was, but what I learnt is worth sharing.

The potato’s story begins in what is now known as Peru. It was cultivated and grown there, until Spanish travelers brought it to Europe. From here, it spread across the world.

At first, the people didn’t regard it well. It was too bland and plain for their liking. Besides, the potato plant looked too similar to the poisonous nightshade plant, belladonna. Instead of using it for nourishment, they used it as decorative houseplants and made little effort to find a way to place it on their plates.

Some two centuries later, the potato spread all through Europe. It was now a staple food for the people. But even then, it was really only eaten by the lower class. European peasants at the time were often suffering from grain famines. The potato was consistently strong, letting them avoid hunger. their populations grew and grew. The most significant increase in population was in Ireland.

The Irish population swelled dramatically. From 1590 to 1845, it rose from 1 million to 8 million. Then tragedy struck. Potato blight disease ravaged the lands, and most of the crops they so heavily depended on withered and died. All that led to the Irish Potato Famine, one of the most infamous and devastating famines in modern history.

This was the key to the potato’s heroism in our history. The Famine resulted in more than a million deaths. The desperate Irishmen sent their children off to find better lives outside of Ireland. Two million Irish immigrants spread across the world. Many of these Irish immigrants later shaped history.

After the Famine, the potato did recover. It once again became a popular staple across Europe. Now, Europe had a well-fed, healthy, growing population—not to mention the millions of Irish immigrants. This meant there were lots of people capable of run the eruption of factories, eventually leading to the Industrial Revolution. These were exciting times, new inventions popping everywhere. It was hard on the lower-class, though, but it was the bridge between then and now. Much like its name, it revolutionized technology and turned it into what it is today.

All this wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for the potato. True, it plays a very small role, but without it things might not have played out as they did. Yet the potato’s journey just shows how the smallest, slightest thing can impact the grander scheme of things in the long run.