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Period: Jan 1, 1492 to
Columbian Exchange: Plants
Timeline of the Columbian Exchange: Plants -
Jan 1, 1493
Lemon
(Old World to New World) Christopher Columbus brought lemon seeds to Haiti. People would put them on display as a decoration, but eventually learned to eat them and make juices out of it.
(http://ageofex.marinersmuseum.org/?type=webpage&id=47) -
Nov 1, 1493
Pineapple
(New World to Old World) Columbus lowered their anchor in a cove in Guadeloupe to inspect a deserted Caribbean village. Pineapple ultimately became royalty food for its sweetness and rarity. (http://www.levins.com/pineapple.html) -
Jan 1, 1500
Banana
(Old World to New World) Portuguese sailors were establishing the crop throughout Brazil, where it likely spread to the sugar plantation economies of the New World. They relied upon bananas to feed their slave populations, as it can be easily digested and have good amount of calories for their workers to consume. (http://cwh.ucsc.edu/bananas/Site/Early%20History%20of%20the%20Banana.html) -
Jan 1, 1520
Rice
(Old World to New World) European colonizers introduced Asian rice to Mexico at Veracruz and the Portuguese and their African slaves to Brazil. Rice was produced by slaves in the New World, and thus, slave trades also increased along with the rice trades.
(http://ricepedia.org/culture/history-of-rice-cultivation) -
Jan 1, 1528
Cacao
(New World to Old World) Cortés later joined an expedition to Cuba. In 1518, he set off to explore Mexico, and drank the "brown gold", bringing it to the Spanish court in 1528. They fell in love with the exotic drink and added other spices and sweeteners for preference. Spain also tried to keep cocoa from the world, keeping it to themselves until 1585.
(http://www.worldagroforestry.org/treesandmarkets/inaforesta/history.htm) -
Jan 1, 1536
Potato
(New World to Old world) In 1536 Spanish Conquistadors conquered Peru, discovered potatoes and brought it back to Europe. It spread throughout Europe as agriculturalists realized that it was easier to grown, yet contained the needed nutrients and they could be provided to nearly 10 people for each acre of land cultivated.(https://www.potatogoodness.com/potato-fun-facts-history/) -
Tobacco
(New World to Old World) Columbus was the one who saw this and brought it back to Europe. It was used by Europeans as a relaxation medicine, also becoming one of the major source of deaths in the New World, even till today. (http://staff.esuhsd.org/balochie/studentprojects/newworldfoods/) -
Coffee Beans
(Old World to New World) Coffee was brought to New Amsterdam, later called New York by the British. Europeans wanted to grow coffee beans in their own territories. The revolt, known as the Boston Tea Party, would forever change the American drinking preference to coffee. (http://www.ncausa.org/About-Coffee/History-of-Coffee)