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How different cultures have shaped american food
Americanisation of food
How different cultures have shaped american food
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The Americas were already established countries, not as much as Europe but they had food to survive on. People who lived in America ate many different fruit and vegetables that grew here varying from avocados, pineapples, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, squashes and tomatoes. We also, turned to the rivers and the oceans for other sources of foods other than turkeys and bison. Europeans had a bigger abundance of food being that there were many colonies over there. The food they ate varied from many fruits and vegetables to many different types of meats. They grew bananas, oranges, lettuce, peaches, cabbage and wheat. As for meat they had pigs, cows and hens. I believe that Europeans played a big role on the type of food that we have available today
Cultures had been flourishing thousands of years before the Europeans arrived to the New World. Great empires such as the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas inhabited the vast lands of Central and South America. These three major powers controlled the land before Columbus or Cortez were even born. Although the Pre-Columbian civilizations and the Europeans shared some similar ideas, life was very different in the New World compared with that of Middle Age Europe.
In Jared Diamond’s excerpt from his book, Guns, Germs, and Steel, he puts forward the historical narrative of how human evolution progresses at varying rates for different cultures due solely to the particular geographic region that people assimilate from. Diamond supports this thesis with specific evidence on the importance of food production, emphasizing that food is the main ingredient needed for a population to experience progress and growth, enabling that culture to expand around the world. I agree with Diamond’s dissertation and find it compelling due to his logical evidence and ethos on the topic.
Columbian Exchange or the big exchange was a great exchange on a wide range of animals (Horses, Chickens, sheep, swine, Turkey), plants (Wheat, barley, corn, beans, tomatoes), people and culture, infectious diseases, and ideas, technology (Wheeled vehicles, iron tools, metallurgy) all these things happened between Native Americans and from Europe after the voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492. Resulting in communication between the two cultures to initiate a number of crops that have led to the increase in population in both hemispheres, where the explorers returned to Europe loaded with corn, tomatoes, potatoes, which has become one of the main crops in Eurasia with the solutions of the eighteenth century. At the same time, the Europeans crops, cassava and peanuts to Southeast Asia with a tropical climate.
Although the Europeans presence in the Americas from 1492 to many years later caused drastic change in the environment, their part in forever altering the entire American ecosystem was minor when compared to the part of the true criminals: the European animals. The introduction of these European animals into the New World had the most destructive effects on the new environment and everlastingly altered the ecology of the Americas. During the time that pre-dated the arrival of the Europeans, the Americas remained basically untouched and prevailed as virgin land. The land was populated with not just American Indians, but also populated by vast numbers of plants and animals.
The first major event in the foundation and evolution of the United States is of course the discovery of the America continents and the European contact that followed. Without this discovery, the seeds for American expansion as a country and a power on the world stage never would have happened. Another positive of European contact include the introduction of corn, pumpkins, potatoes, papayas, pineapples, tomatoes, avocados, guavas, peanuts, chili peppers, many different types of squashed and beans, and cacao to the world diet. European contact with the New World and the Native Americans also resulted in the discovery, and addition to the world markets, of cotton, rubber trees, and tobacco; all of which would go on to play hugely important roles in American history. European contact has also had a negative impact. Immediately following contact with the Europeans, the population numbers of the Native Americans declined roughly by half. This population drop was caused mostly by deadly epidemics because the Native American lacked natural immunities to diseases carried by the Europeans such as cholera, typhus, measles, diphtheria, and smallpox. While European contact with the New World had a disastrous effect on the indigenous Native Americans, the contact had m...
In the time of Europe many difficulties came across. The trade to the new word became a trade boom in the 15th century. There was import demand on the companies and the rising export supply became too much for the natives to handle. In the rise of exports the supplies had to be shipped from Asia to the Americans. In the American land, where the majority of Europeans desired to sail to, the new sailors that came were not accepted as Americans, though none were truly considered Americans until later in the time of America. “The sea trade had multiplied by leaps and bounds” (Hale, John R.513). The route of trade was soon taken by Spain and some of the ships were entering to the new world. There was a demand for food in Europe at the time of Columbus and the main sea route for trade was between the North Sea and the Mediterranean. As the trade increased, Europe began to receive products including, pepper, this gave Europe the better of a chance to sail to the new world. The trade in Europe made Europeans richer in the sense of knowledge and began to bring Europeans to a different level of communication with the other lands.
Labor shortage and certainly did make room for immigrant newcomers. Combinations of indigenous, European and African people created a new society in the Americas. Europeans and Africans brought not only germs and their people but also their plants and animals. They also changed the environment. Even more innovative were their animals: horses, pigs, cattle, goat, and sheep. New domesticated animals made possible the ranching economy and cowboy cultures, hunting bison by horseback. American food crops spread widely in the Eastern Hemisphere. The American crops later provided cheap and reasonably nutritious food for millions of industrial workers. Exchange with the Americas reshaped the world economy because of the silver mines of Mexico and Peru and the millions of African slaves to the Americas. The plantation owners of the tropical lowland regions needed workers and found them by millions in Africa. The slave trade which bought these workers to the colonies, and the sugar, and cotton trade, which spread the fruits of their labor abroad, created a lasting link among Africa. The Columbian was enormous network of communication, migration, trade, disease, and the transfer of plants and animals, all made by European colonial empires in the
After the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus, European Nations competed in a race against one another to claim pieces of the new land. Before Columbus found this land, the sea separating the New World from Europe seemed endless, and mundane. The Europeans were only interested in the land to the East. But with the New World as a new hat thrown into the ring, the Europeans tossed aside their old toy to go play with a new one. This time period of conquest over the New World was known as the Age of Exploration, and by the 1700s, they kept their pickings. A New World meant more land to build homes and plant crops, and more money to be earned by buying out new houses and selling new crops grown in foreign soil. Spain claimed Mexico, and the Southwest portions of what would be known as America. France got their hands on most of present-day Canada, as well as Louisiana. The Dutch set foot on land they called New Amsterdam, however, The English, who had settled their first colony in Jamestown, Virginia, drove the Dutch out and claimed New Amsterdam for themselves, later renaming it New York. The English claimed more land as time passed, and eventually they had formed 13 different colonies in the Eastern part of America. The English Colonies were separated into 3 different regions. The New England Colonies (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire), the Middle Colonies (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware), and the Southern Colonies (Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia). The New England Colonies were the earliest of the 3 regions, founded by English Settlers seeking religious freedom. The Middle Colonies were also founded by settlers seeking religious freedom. The Southern Colonies,...
The Americas and Europe were parallel in their new possession of previously inaccessible crops and animals. America gained resources like barley, wheat, and rice from the Old World. Animals such as pigs, cattle, and horses were also brought to the Americas. These new resources provided more food and advances in the lives of the natives like the Incas and Aztecs. From the Americas, Europe now procured crops such as maize, peppers, and peanuts. The Americas and Europe are also comparable in their use of African slaves. Both of these areas imported slaves from Africa to use for specific tasks. The Americas used slaves for astringent agricultural labor such as
When the Europeans explored the Americas, they were introduced to new plants, foods, and animals, as well as riches and land. Foods such as corn, white and sweet potatoes, beans, tomatoes, cacao, fruits, peppers, peanuts, sugar cane, and tobacco were many of the new foods enjoyed by Europeans. Some animals such as wild turkeys, llamas, and alpacas, were brought back to Europe. Native American Indians traded furs with the Europeans, which were luxury items throughout Europe. The discovery of lands rich in gold, silver, and other treasures prompted the conquistadors to launch expeditions to the Americas, while reports of newly discovered lands abundant in resources, lured many other Europeans to the Americas in search of a new and better life.
Many people would be surprised that the things they associate with certain countries are not native to those lands. Sugar was not originally grown in the Caribbean and cows are not indigenous to the United States. Before the Age of Exploration, a period lasting for centuries with long-extending effects, Europeans had not truly begun to explore Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Even with the fearless adventures of the Vikings, Polynesians, and Ming Chinese, no extreme, lasting difference was created. Once people began exploring outside of their own worlds, great social, political, and economic change was ushered in with the exchange and alteration of people, plants, animals, technology, diseases, religion, and political systems.
The first similarity between the regions of America and Africa was the spread of new crops. In America, crops such as bananas and sugarcane had found their way to the region and became heavily cultivated. Evenmore so, livestock had spread like wildfire through the americas, particularly domesticated animals such as cows, sheep, and pigs, and this was due to the fact that the Americas were largely free of natural predators. Similarly, Africa had received crops such as corn and maize had reached the
However, what he found was not the East Indies but instead the West Indies, discovering an abundance of natural resources and new land. Columbus had paved the way for the colonization of America, not only for the English but for the French, Spanish, and Portuguese as well. This led to the establishment of trans-Atlantic connections, such as the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and many other trade routes, most of which are still used today. The world now had the final piece to begin a full-scale global trading economy. With the establishment of this new trading option, the exchange of new plants and animals began. Crops such as corn, tomatoes, cotton, tobacco, and potatoes were previously unknown to Europeans. These soon became staple food supplements in the diet of most Europeans, so much that the collapse of the potato crops, The Great Irish Famine in Ireland, caused the population to fall by as much as 25%. Similarly, farm animals such as sheep, pigs, cattle, and horses were introduced into the Americas. The Native Americans’ introduction to horses led to them becoming a large part of their hunting culture. Native Americans would also trade animal fur skins to the Europeans for items like beads or bronze jewelry. Both sides of these trades believed they were getting the better end of the deal thus resulting in a
The American diet has changed drastically in the last seventy years in America. From how much Americans consume to how it is produced food has become something totally different than it was seventy years ago. “American are consuming more food and several hundred more calories per person per day than their counterparts in the late 1950s” (USDA). This is a shocking statement because you would think that Americans are becoming healthier than their counterparts in the late 50s. So how has the American diet changed so much over the past seven decades?
“Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you who you are,” wrote renowned gastronome Jean