The Potato And Its Societal Effects Essay -- Essays Papers

The white potato And Its Societal Effects The stump spud had a massive effect in Europe during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. The tater was a part of the Agricultural Revolution that took place during this time. The Agricultural Revolution non only had a great impact on agriculture, but hostelry as well. This revolution ca utilize an increase in population. J.G. Hawkes, author of The Potato Evolution, Biodiversity, and transmissible Resources, notes that the potato was brought to Spain about 1570 by Spanish explorers who discovered it in to the south America. The potato was grown in the country of Chile. Hawkes also asserts that the potato was just about likely brought to England around 1590. However, Redcliffe Salaman, author of The History and Social Influence of the Potato, explains that the potato was a luxury food in England until the middle of the seventeenth atomic number 6 (445). The potato helped to revolutionize society. During the eighteen th century the working class of England could not afford bread. Bread prices rose dramatically, but workers wages remained low. This caused a great deal of disease and malnutrition within the working class in England. Salaman notes that the potato was mainly responsible for remedying this condition amongst the working classes of the country (435). The potato was used as a substitute for bread because there was a dearth of wheat. The potato helped England to survive a shortage of wheat and bread. The Western inheritance apprise Edition textbook explains that with the potato, a single acre of land could nurture enough potatoes to feed a peasant family for an entire year (381-82). Salaman offered the state of esteemed economist Adam Smith who said, one acre land low potatoes would yield... ... it was and could not afford food. Potatoes had been the primary source of food for seventy portion of the Irish people. This Famine changed Ireland socially and culturally in many ways. w ork Cited - Food and Drink in History Selections from the Annales. Vol. 5. Baltimore The John Hopkins University Press, 1979. 5 vols. - Hawkes, J.G. The Potato Evolution, Biodiversity, and Genetic Resources. Washington, D.C. Smithsonian Institute Press, 1990.. - Salaman, Redcliffe. The History and Social Influence of the Potato. Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 1985. - Szabo, Liz. Interpreting the Irish Famine, 1846-1850. Liz Szabos Home Page. http//avery.med.virginia.edu/eas5e/Irish/Famine.html (25 March 1998). - The Western Heritage Brief Edition. Vol. 2. New Jersey Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1996. 2 vols.