The Potato In Europe During The Nineteenth Century

The Potato And Its Societal Effects The potato had a great effect in Europe during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. The potato was a part of the Agricultural Revolution that took place during this time. The Agricultural Revolution not only had a great impact on agriculture, but society as well. This revolution caused an increase in population. J.G. Hawkes, author of The Potato: Evolution, Biodiversity, and Genetic Resources, notes that the "potato [was] brought to Spain about 1570 by Spanish explorers who discovered it in South America. The potato was grown in the country of Chile. Hawkes also asserts that the potato was most likely brought to England around 1590. However, Redcliffe Salaman, author of The History and

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 shortage of wheat. The potato helped England to survive a shortage of wheat and bread. The Western Heritage Brief Edition textbook explains that with the potato, "a single acre of land could produce enough potatoes to feed a peasant family for an entire year" (381-82). Salaman offered the evidence of esteemed economist Adam Smith who said, "one acre land under potatoes would yield an equivalent in food to three acres of wheat, and would therefore maintain a much larger population" (488). The Food and Drink in History states that "the potato was seen as a crop for the poor" (23). The potato provided much needed nutrition for England's working class. Potatoes were inexpensive and could be grown relatively

The Western Heritage Brief Edition maintained that ‘a disease that blighted the nation's potato crop caused about 500,000 Irish peasants to starve to death and hundreds of thousands to emigrate" (514). Salaman explained that "the disease attacked without warning the growing plants, destroying in a few days, fields of potatoes which till then had been proudly resplendent in all their pomp of dark green leaf and purple bloom, leaving nothing but black and withered stalks" (289). A University of Virginia web site claimed that "Ireland's population dropped from eight million before the Famine to five million years after. Many of the Irish immigrated to the United States. The Famine occurred because food prices soared and Irish farmers who were barely making ends meet as it was and could not afford food. Potatoes had been the primary source of food for seventy percent of the Irish people. This Famine changed Ireland socially and culturally in many