The Tomato: Columbian Exchange

World History 12
September 28, 2012
Columbian Exchange The tomato was originally cultivated by the Aztecs in Central America, and has historic origins that can be traced back to around 700 A.D. They were also known to be native to western South America. It was during the 16th century that the Europeans were introduced to this fruit when the early explorers set tail to discover new lands. In 1519, Cortez brought tomato seeds back to Europe where they planted as ornamental curiosities but didn’t eat them. The first tomatoes that reached to Europe weren’t the typical red tomatoes that we see today. They were yellow in color, and therefore were named as yellow or golden apples. It was a pale fruit with an acid flavor and unpleasant smell that
Sicilians discovered that tomato sauces were a good complement to pasta and pizzas and provided more color and flavor than the traditional butter or olive oil dressings. Throughout Southern Europe, the tomato was quickly accepted into the kitchen, yet as it moved north, more resistance was apparent. The fact that Europeans did not know how to prepare them and that they bore no resemblance to foods already in their diets made their acceptance more difficult and they also found the tomato difficult to prepare. It was too acrid to eat in its green stage but when it ripened, it appeared to be spoiled, and when cooked it disintegrated. They finally adopted the Aztec technique of grinding it into a puree. The British admired the tomato for its beauty but believed it was poisonous because of its appearance being similar to the wolf peach. The tomato was eaten in soups in England in the 1750s and is mentioned in the famous English cookbook of 1758. By the 1780s, tomato sauce was widely used in England. When it was first brought to Europe, since many Europeans considered it to be unappetizing and poisonous, it probably wouldn’t have had much value. Currently, it costs around $60 per ton for
The Europeans had already developed immunity to the disease, so they had accidentally brought the disease to the Americas and the natives found them deadly. There was no way to sterilize clothing or dishes in that times, so whenever the European explorers sneezed, the natives caught the disease right away. The symptoms of Influenza include headache, chills, fever, joint pain, nausea, congested mucous membranes in the throat and nose, persistent cough, tiredness, diarrhea and vomiting. There are three strains of viruses, the influenza A,B, and C that causes the disease. In most cases, droplets through coughing and sneezing of infected persons transmit the flu or just by direct contact. Influenza affects the respiratory system and its incubation period could be from 3~7 days. When Columbus and his men set sail on the second Colombian expedition to the New World in 1493, the crew suffered from fever, respiratory symptoms and malaise. It is generally accepted that the disease was influenza. Pigs, horses, and hens were also carried in the same ship and they may have been a great intermediary to spread the disease around and kill 90~95% of the natives. If Influenza wouldn’t have spread around when the European explorers came, then there would’ve been more natives alive in now days than there actually