Portuguese exploration as early as the 1400’s plays the biggest role in the widespread of Portuguese cuisine around the world today. Although the purpose of Portuguese exploration had absolutely no goal of obtaining a universal food market in a multitude of different countries and continents it did lead to such a circumstance. It’s a conception that most people think is irrational and continues to stay under the radar, yet there is enough evidence to support every argument about it. Portuguese sailors and explorers left endless amounts of culinary souvenirs everywhere they traveled sparking a cultural cuisine that has continued on for centuries.
It all started during the Age of Discovery, which was the historical period where Portuguese discoveries occurred and began to represent a whole new light to ecology, agriculture, and culture in history. European exploration allowed the global mapping of the world, resulting in a new world-view and distant civilizations acknowledging each other. (Hamilton) It started in 1415 when Prince Henry led a military force that landed in Morocco, making Portugal the first European country to land in Africa. Less than a hundred years later Portuguese explorers like Vasco da Gama and Pedro Alvares Cabral sailed and conquered numerous territories across the map such as sub-Saharan Africa, Angola, Mozambique, Mombasa, India, and Brazil. These influential discoveries led to the Portuguese having complete control of the African sea route and opened the way to European control of the space trade. While other European countries began to compete with the fast pace expansion of the Portuguese explorers, Portugal continued to navigate and discover new worlds. In the late 1500’s Fernao Mendes Pinto had exten...
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...ly are some dishes similar but so are the traditions celebrated at particular times of years. For example, Holy Ghost Soup is a prime time meal that will be on the table every Easter along with prominent and plentiful loaves of Sweet Bread (Massa). Another example is Grilled Sardinhas, not one family cookout would be successful without them.
All in all, the former colonies and possessions all have a culinary legacy that stems for those early and century-long Portuguese encounters. Although many people still don’t understand and appreciate the impact that Portugal originally had on worldwide cuisine, Portuguese-inspired foods are gaining more recognition globally more and more each day.
Works Cited
Hamilton, Cherie. “Cuisines of Portuguese Encounters”. https://umassd.umassonline.net/bbcswebdav/Cuisines%20of%20Portuguese%20Encounters.pdf. Accessed May 6, 2014.
Beginning in 1492, Spain had been the first European nation to sail westward across the Atlantic Ocean and colonize the Amerindian nations of the Western Hemisphere. The empire that came from this exploration extended from Virginia on the
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The Portuguese were the first European settlers to arrive in the area. They were led by adventurous Pedro Cabral, who began the colonial period in 1500.
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Russell-Wood, A. J. R. Portuguese empire, 1415-1808 a world on the move. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins UP, 1998. Print.
"History of and Variation in Peruvian Cuisine." YUM A Taste of Immigrant City. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2014.
By the Age of Exploration, advancements that allowed Europeans to easily travel by sea broadened opportunities of exposure to other cultures. This is what enabled James Cook ...
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...ition of spices into the market during the Middle Ages not only created an economic boom but also led to the change in social, political, and religious outlooks of society. The vast importance of the spice trade opened the doors for nations to expand and create new relationships with neighboring regions, but most importantly it allowed individuals such as Columbus, Da Gama, Polo and other explorers to be able to discover new domains that eventually led to the colonization of the Americas today. Paul Freedman’s book does an excellent job in enlightening the reader of how meaningful spices were throughout the centuries and with the help of numerous primary sources, the message was clear just after reading the first chapter. The book allows us to have a better understanding of the fundamental importance spices played in shifting the medieval times into the modern era.
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