Colonial Latin America – Burkholder and Johnson
The Diffusion of Plants and Animals
The New World provided the Old with more mundane items than topics for theological and juridical discourse
and royal soul searching. In their long term impact, these times certainly affected far more people. Maize,
potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans and manioc or cassava were the five New World plants that had the greatest
influence on diet elsewhere. Squashes, peanuts, tomatoes, a variety of peppers, avocados, cacao and scores
of other plants have further enriched tables in many part of the world. Tobacco, too, became internationally
popular.
Maize was present throughout much of the Americas when the Iberians arrived. Returning travelers soon
carried it to Spain, and its presence in Castile was noted in 1530. Used as a food for animals, maize cultivation
generally expanded after that date, and by the late 18th century it was a common crop in northern Spain and
the provinces of Granada and Valencia. The Portuguese began to grown maize by 1525, and the area devoted
to its planting increased substantially in the following years. Only in the 17 th century, however, did maize
become an important staple on other European tables
Returning Spaniard introduced potatoes not long after the conquest of Peru. By the mid-1570s a hospital in
Seville was feeding patients potatoes. It was well after that date, however, before potatoes became an
important part of Europeans daily fare. Peasants and laborers were the primary consumers of this easily
grown tuber. The Irish became heavily dependent on potatoes for sustenance before 1700, and may workers
of 18th century Europe found the inexpensive starch a valuable addition to their diet.
No other American plants matched maize and potatoes for their importance in the European diet, but a
number of other found there ways to Old World tables. Lima, butter kidney, navy, string and innumerable
other varieties of beans were grown in the New World. These protein rich forms of “poor man’s meat” soon
spread to the remainder of the known world. Their frequent cultivation in private gardens rather than field
prevents quantifying their importance, but they are a common addition to meals in many places. Manioc, the
staple food crop of Brazil, is now an important crop in the tropics, although rarely found in North America or
Europe except as the dessert tapioca. Sweet potatoes and yams are now important secondary crops in many
areas of the world by have not impressed many Europeans diners.
Amerindians ate wild game, fowl, and fish but had few and modest sources of domesticated animal protein to
share with their invaders. Turkeys found some favor with European palates, and ducks were imported for
raising in the Old World as well. Guinea pigs raised by the Inca for food, entered Europe in the 16t century but
did not become popular there. Some evidence suggest that coastal population of south American had
acquired chickens as a result of contacts with Polynesia before the arrival of Europeans, but, of course, Europe
had its own varieties as well.
The Old World provided a wider range of plants and animals than the New did, which transformed the use of
extensive regions of Latin America and affected diets and economies as well. Beginning with Columbus’
second voyage in 1493, Spaniards began to import plants and animals that would enable them to maintain to
customary Spain’s diet. Wheat, olive oil, wine, domestic meat, and cheese were essential foodstuffs without
which they could not have the “good life” they sought in the Indies. The early settlers also imported familiar
vegetables and fruits to complement their diets.. The Caribbean islands were not well suited for many plants
the settlers introduced. For example, the sources of Mediterranean diet – wheat, olive trees, and grapevines
– did not prosper. On the other hand, garden vegetables such as cabbage, radishes, and lettuce did well.
Melons and a variety of other fruits also flourished. Sugar cane, introduced by Columbus by 1493,
immediately took hold and became a staple of Espanola’s economy for much of the 16t century. In the
appropriate soil and climate, sugarcane could be grown from the Gulf of Mexico to Argentina. Brazil, in
particular, began producing sugar soon after its first settlers arrived, and by 1580 it was the leading producer
into the world. Bananas also prospered in the Antilles. Introduced in 1516, they quickly spread to other
Caribbean islands and the New World.
Compared with the mixed results of early horticulture in the Antilles, the initial efforts at raising livestock were
spectacular. Horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and chickens reached Espanola I 1493. Ample forage and a
growing amount of open land as a result of rapid decline in the Indian population provided an excellent
environment. Pigs and cattle thrived; their encroachment on native agriculture, however, further exacerbated
the drop in native population. As the Spaniards advanced from one island to another, the routinely took with
them domestic animals, whose continued expansion in number diminished the effects of decrease in native
agricultural products. The Spaniards’ ability to travel with a mobile food supply, most notably swine,
facilitated their subsequent exploration and conquest beyond the Caribbean. . .
Although the plants the Iberians brought from the Peninsula and the Atlantic islands considerably changed the
New World’s arable landscape, the introduction of domesticated animals altered it even more. Pigs were the
most important source of meat for the conquistadors, but their significance declined with more settled
conditions and the expansion of cattle and sheep herds. Cattle and sheep provided not only meat but also
other products – hides, tallow and wool – for domestic markets. Hides also were exported from New Spain
and later from Venezuela and Brazil. Oxen in Brazil were indispensable in many phases of the production of
sugar, and their number increased rapidly. Planters used them in hauling firewood, planting fields and
grinding cane. Horses also expanded in number after the Iberians settled in New Spain, in the highland
pasture areas of Peru and Ecuador, and in Brazil. Chile and especially the Rio de la Plata became sources of
quality mounts. . .
The introduction of Europeans plants and animals enabled the Iberians to emulate and in some ways to
surpass the living standards of their peers on the peninsula. Meat became plentiful quickly, and the quality of
the colonists’ diets was well above that of the Iberians. The consequences of Old World flora and fauna, on
the other hand, were quite different for the Indians.
Beginning with their settlement in the Caribbean, the Spaniards required the natives to grow and provide as
tribute these new European foodstuffs. Forced to grow new plants with new methods, the natives complied
reluctantly. They did not have to eat the new foods, however, and few incorporated wheat or other European
crops into their diet. The native response to imported animals, in contrast, was markedly more favorable.
Indians quickly integrated small domestic animals into their lives. Dogs, cats, chickens, and pigs did not
require the living space of cattle or sheep. Consequently, many natives kept the smaller animals. but relatively
few in densely settled regions maintained herds of cattle or sheep. Indeed, the Spaniards’ herds caused the
natives no end of trouble as the trod through fields and villages, destroying crops. On the frontiers the story
was different. In the interior of Brazil the Indians found it difficult to refrain from hunting cattle as large and
easy prey. Natives in the frontier regions of New Spain and Chile, on the other hand, herded the larger
domestic animals with the aid of horses. Horsemanship became prized in a number of frontier cultures of
Chile and Brazil
Eleven sentences -33 points