Potatoes Push Peoples?
by Rit NosotroChange Over Time essay
Explain the influence of the potato from the Andean Indians to the migration of the Irish to the USA.
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Summary:
Natural resources play a vital role in the development of a civilization. For instance, the climate and terrain determine the agriculture of a community and thus affect which food products a given civilization has available to them. Until the relatively recent development of the extensive import and export of agricultural products, the average citizen depended on what agriculture their surroundings could produce. Many communities have a few agricultural products that grow well in their area and become a staple of the diet of the community. The potato has acted as a staple for many civilizations and as a result has played a role in how those societies have developed.
Potatoes are one of the agricultural products that appeared first in the Americas.
It originated in the Peruvian Andes and thus constituted a staple in the diet
of the Incan Empire. The Andean Indians depended primarily on agriculture as
their means of collecting food, and thus invested much towards developing their
agricultural techniques and practices. They did not possess knowledge of the
wheel or the use of working animals such as cows and horses, so each township
worked the common farmland by hand as a community. Also, they used animal droppings
and remains as fertilizer, and developed methods of farming on hillsides that
prevented the dirt from eroding away. Furthermore, they took advantage of the
contrasting mountain temperatures and dried out their potato crops by continually
exposing them to the heat of the day and the cold at night. Unsurprisingly,
the Incan Empire and other neighboring people groups “developed more than
half the agricultural products the world eats today.”1 Since
potatoes are now a food staple for societies around the world, obviously these
Andean Indians made a gigantic impact on the world as we see it today.
The potato was first introduced to Europe when Spanish explorers brought it
back after they visited the lands belonging to the Peruvian Indians in the 1500s.
Since the potato grows extremely well in temperate climates, its use began to
spread throughout much of Europe. The soil differences between mainland Europe
and Great Britain resulted in slightly different types of potatoes. As a result,
each area’s potatoes have unique characteristics.2 By the mid-1600s
the potato reached the Island of Ireland and it eventually became a vital part
of the Irish diet. They were nutritious and relatively easy to grow; this made
them ideal for subsistence farmers who depended on their own produce to feed
their families. Unfortunately, as time progressed the Irish began to depend
on one type of potato and this left them vulnerable. They lacked the variation
to protect their crops from disease, and so when began infecting the potato
crop it spread rapidly throughout the island because the potatoes were all the
same. When they tried to plant a new potato crop in the spring, the fungus struck
again.3 On December 16, 1846, the Irish Newspaper, Wexford Independent
published an article that said, “Our accounts from the northern parts
of this country are most deplorable. What the poor people earn on the public
works is barely sufficient to support them. All their earnings go for food;
and the consequence is, that they have nothing left to procure clothing. Since
the extreme cold set in, sickness and death have accordingly followed in its
train. Inflammation of the lungs, fevers, and other maladies, resulting from
excessive privation, have been bearing away their victims. Many have died in
the course of last week; and the illness in every case was traceable to the
want of clothing and firing, if not of sufficient food.”4
Many Irish people left their homes for the United States, which resulted in
a spike in that country’s immigration. It also began to affect the culture
and economy of the United States. They settled in the coastal cities and took
low-paying jobs previously worked by white women and blacks. Furthermore, these
largely Catholic immigrants favored democratic policies.5 Obviously
these things hugely impacted the workforce in cities and eventually began to
influence politics and government decisions because of the new variations in
the population.
Ecclesiastes 5:12, 15 says, “The sleep of a laboring man is sweet, Whether he eats little or much; But the abundance of the rich will not permit him to sleep. As he came from his mother's womb, naked shall he return, To go as he came; And he shall take nothing from his labor Which he may carry away in his hand.” (NKJV) Throughout much of Ecclesiastes Solomon talks about how the things of the earth fall away; they are only temporary. God has given people many blessings, including potatoes, and calls His children to appreciate what He has done. The Irish potato famine demonstrates to those people who today live in peace and prosperity how many blessings they truly have. “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.”6
QuickQuiz:
1. Potatoes are originally native to:
a. North America
b. South America
c. Europe
d. Asia
2. Potatoes first appeared in Europe in the:
a. 16th Century
b. 17th Century
c. 18th Century
d. 19th Century
3. The Irish potato famine and subsequent emigration to the United States occurred
in the:
a. 1500s
b. 1600s
c. 1700s
d. 1800s
4. Things on earth are:
a. Bad, and should be ignored.
b. Temporary.
c. Eternal.
d. All that we should concentrate on.
Endnotes:
1 “Inca Empire.” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2004. http://encarta.msn.com. March 25, 2004.
2 “Potato.” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2004. http://encarta.msn.com. March 25, 2004.
3 “EPA History-The Irish Potato Famine.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/history/topics/perspect/potato.htm. March 27, 2004.
4 “Famine” and Its Remedy.” Interpreting the Irish Famine. http://www.people.virginia.edu/~eas5e/Irish/Wexford.html. March 27, 2004.
5 “United States (History).” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2004. http://encarta.msn.com. March 27, 2004.
6 Philippians 4:11. The Holy Bible (NKJV).
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