The Role of Spices on the Expansion of Europe Essay

As stated in Paul Freedman’s, Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination, “The passion for spices underlies the beginning of the European colonial enterprise, a force that remade the demography, politics, culture, economy, and ecology of the entire globe” (Freedman 3). By the mid- fifteenth century, the Silk Road was deteriorating, leaving the world with the solid grasp on trading, as well as supply and demand. Every country and area had developed their “trade mark” and had adequate understanding on the process of trading. At this time, European’s still had many mysteries they were trying to solve, regarding demography, politics, culture, economy, and ecology, as Freedman mentioned. Spices gave European’s the gateway they needed to unlock many new ideas. This new desired commodity enabled European’s to think “outside the box,” which resulted in a multitude of uses for spices, which made them an even more luxurious item. According to Freedman, “Of all the world’s commodities, spices most dramatically affected history because they launched Europe on the path to eventual overseas conquest, a conquest whose success and failure affects every aspect of contemporary world politics” (3). Freedman exhibits here that spices not only affected Europe, but the whole world as well. Spices intertwined Europe with the rest of the world. Because spices were a undiscovered product by most of the world, it was a mystery on how they should be used, and what they should be used with.

The Columbian Exchange was important to everyone around the world, it brought all sorts of new food to America and Europe. Chicken Alfredo has ingredients that were from China, Italy, and India so when the Columbian Exchange took place someone decided to mix these ingredients together to make Chicken Alfredo. Most of the stuff in Chicken Alfredo was from Italy so when it was brought down to America many people were shocked about what has just been brought to them. Pasta was not actually from Italy, it was originally from China but people have brought it over. Also chicken was originally from Thailand, China, Vietnam and other Asian

Chapter six talks about the influences of northern and southern ethnic groups on American foods and foods habits. The introduction of these foods and its contact with other culture’s food is what is considered to be the characteristics of the American diet. The author also shed light on where certain immigrants were coming from providing evidence that most of the northern Europe countries were countries of the Great Britain, Ireland, and France. The southern European countries, on the other hand, included Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Kittler et al. Provide compelling evidence to support their argument though food preparation may differ in the countries, the ingredients and influences tend to be the same. For instances in Great Britain and Ireland

James McCann’s book, Stirring the Pot: A History of African Cuisine, analyzed the procedures of crafting African cuisines derived from various parts of Africa. McCann wants to illustrate to his audience what African people have consumed over time and examine how their food patterns changed with their geographical location, the seasons, and historical interactions. McCann used a multidisciplinary methodological approach in writing the book. McCann employed a variety of sources including anthropological studies, sociological studies, cookbooks about African dishes, European accounts of African food making, and historical accounts by African observers. McCann used sub-altern as his theoretical approach for the majority of the book. McCann discussed techniques that were similar to a reading against the grain approach while observing recipes when trying to figure out the origin of a dish. McCann divided his book into four sections. The first section was titled, Basic Ingredients. In this first section McCann discussed the staple crops and spices that exist within Africa. Also McCann analyzed the seasons, wet and dry, and how they affect African cuisines during their respective time periods. Stirring the National Stew: Food and National identity in Ethiopia, was the second section of the book. In the second section McCann analyzed a feast in 1887 that was created by the Ethiopian rulers. McCann also examined the history and transitions of Ethiopian cuisines. The third

Before Rome came to great power, there was a civilization that inhabited Italy, called the Etruscans, also otherwise known as Tyrrhenians. There are many theories on the origins and values the Etruscans brought to history as a whole. While the Etruscans did contribute a lot to history, we don’t know exactly just how much they contributed, as much of their history has been lost. In order to better understand their standing in historical value, we must discuss the theory of their origin, their history, their society, and their culture. To gain better knowledge we need to evaluate the three theories of the Etruscans’ origins.

Second, there were misunderstandings. One of the merchants could’ve said something that would irritate the other. Possibly, one of them could hear a completely different other thing, then the other, so not enough goods were present. They could’ve traded with the wrong person, and accidentally cause an altercation.

This essay will show that the introduction of the potato to Europe led to a series of events over a long period of time that contributed to the making of modern Europe. What place does the potato have in the making of modern Europe? The potato sparked an increase in food production that in turn led to increased populations amongst European countries, and increased living standards for Europeans. Two other effects that the potato’s introduction had were related to the spread of ideals and culture than the social and economic effects that are listed above. These are how the age of enlightenment and enlightenment thinking led to the gradual acceptance of potato as a staple food, and the spread of European values and culture due to an exodus of

The motives of the europeans were very selfish. The Europeans did not have a care in the world about who was living in north america. It all started with the spanish and their evil ways. As stated in the textbook, Out of Many: A History of the American People, “The Spanish created a caste system, in which a small minority of settlers and their offspring controlled lives and labor of millions of Indian and African workers” (Faragher p. 33-34). This quote completely proves my point. The spanish just came in giving orders, and acted as if they have been living in our land their whole lives. To me I feel as though the spanish are such ignorant people for doing this, because they think that they rule the world, but in reality they mean nothing

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.

In “A Wild Taste”: Food and Colonialism in Eighteenth-Century Louisiana, Dawdy reconstructs minutely “what and how people were eating in [French] colonial Louisiana” (Dawdy, 389) based on narrative accounts of colonial writers and also the confirmation from archaeological data. Then, she tries to show “how the sensual and social experience of eating relates to the political rationalities of colonialism,” (Dawdy, 389) which involved mediative practices like adopting and valuing native foods, transplanting French foods and habits into the local environment, and taming exotic ingredients with traditional French recipes (Dawdy, 407). In addition, she identifies the “pyramid [structure] of preference in the order of European, Native, and African

The undeniable expansion of Western European travelers came with a toll that has stamped history books with pages of inhumane and unfathomable treatment of people. The slave ship saw the demise of many millions of people but for a few, a re-birth. The slave trade itself saw the destruction of not only families but of the individual human; their mind, body and spirit. The art of destroying the human starts at the root of which they would be most bound to, this being their family. The slave ship and its crew perfected the art of the destruction of the ‘kin’, also known as ones’ familial relations. With the destruction of kinship, a new type of kin was needed, otherwise the enslaved human would find their life meaningless. This thus sprouting

In today’s society, many people wonder why there are countless Caucasians living in different places around the world that are not Europe. The author of Ecological Imperialism: the Biological Expansion of Europe, Alfred W. Crosby, makes this question the main point in his book and thoroughly addresses his viewpoint as the answer. The places these people live are what Crosby likes to call, the Neo-Europes, “lands thousands of kilometers from Europe and from each other” but are lands that are conquered by the Europeans (Crosby 2). Crosby believes that the reason the Europeans were able to succeed and spread out across the

The food from the New World influenced European society in many ways. The two main foods that changed Europe were the tomato, also known as the pomodoro, and the potato. Without these two foods the world that we know today would be much different. These two foods changed many customs around the world and built many societies. The economical changes brought on by the tomato and the potato is just as important as the changes these two foods made in our kitchens.

The economic history of the Dutch had always been successful and one of the main reasons was due to trade. The Spice trade refers to the trade between historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe. These spices consisted of cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, and turmeric which were used for commerce. Another trade that triggered the start for rapidly expanding markers as well as the development of a variety of industries in the western and southern Europe was known as the Baltic grain trade. During the sixteenth century the urban populations had increased in the Low Countries which thus fueled the market for imported grain. Grain and other Baltic products such as tar, hemp, flax, and wood were not only needed in the

Food is at the heart of every civilization’s culture. It brings people together and unites those of feuding factions. 14th century cuisine, played a similar role in uniting members of different estates.The type of food one ate, like many other aspects of society depended on one’s social class. For example, due to the cost, those of the second estate or the nobles would consume more meat and fish than the peasants of the third estate (History notes 1). Furthermore, the quantity of food also differed for each of the different estates. The upper estates often had large feasts filled with endless delights, while the members of the lower class were lucky to receive their daily ration of bread. It is interesting to note, that even though the majority