What did the Europeans find in the new world?
Explorers threw their doors open to new land. People on continents Asia, Africa and Europe were known as the old world and they had access to each other. Europeans broadened there world by introducing the new world, America. When Christopher Columbus went to the New World he discovered more then just new people and new land, he also discovered new food that he had never seen or tasted before which he brought back to Europe and Africa. Food that he brought back were food such as potato, peanuts, maize and much more.
PotatoesPotatoes can be traced back to the highlands of the Peruvian Andes-Mountain, South America and the Inca Indians of Bolivia, Chile and Peru grew these potatoes for hundreds of years. It was introduced to the Europeans in the 15th century. Over 200 species of wild potatoes are found in America and today the potato is the fifth most important crop worldwide.
|
PeanutsPeanuts were native to South America. It was cultivated for over 2,000 years before Spain took it from South America and brought it back to Spain then, introduced it to West Africa. The peanut's nickname "goober" comes from the Congo people's named for it "nguba".
|
MaizeMaize or corn is the principle grain crop to the Americans which was originally cultivated in Mexico. It was introduced to Spain by Columbus when Columbus's men discovered this new grain in Cuba. Maize grew in America for thousands and thousands of years before Columbus discovered it. There are about 50 different species of maize, the basic colours are red, white and yellow.
|
Cocoa BeansThe fruit cocoa which chocolate is made of, grows on a tropical South American tree. It was cultivated for more then a thousand years in Mexico before Columbus arrived in the new world and he also in counted natives trading cocoa beans as money. Hernan Cortes also went to the new world and met Aztecs mixing corn, grounded cocoa beans, vanilla, chilies and achiote (annatto) seeds with hot water and stirring quickly making a chocolate drink.
|
Tomato
Tomatoes originated in South America Andes it was cultivated in Mexico and spread throughout the world during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In 1519, Cortez discovered tomatoes growing in Montezuma's gardens. When they first discovered them they thought that they were poisonous because it's bright red colour but, when they saw that the Aztecs were eating them and that they didn't get sick so, they tried them and found that they were not poisonous at all. Then Columbus brought them back to Europe.
|
PineapplePineapples originated in America and Columbus and his crew were the first Europeans to have of tasted this fruit. They brought back the fruit and planted them in Europe.Today pineapple is cultivated in the tropical highlands of Brazil, China and Mexico but, Hawaii produces one-third of the worlds supply.
|
Vanilla BeanVanilla the seedpod of an orchid is a spice originated from the tropical rainforests of central America. The orchid is called Vanilla planifolia and vanilla is a Spanish word meaning "long pod". It was cultivated in Mexico for hundreds of years before the French and the Dutch introduced it to Europe. The vanilla bean doesn't have a flavour until they are warmed and placed into a "sweatbox" to ferment.
|
There is so much more things that they found in the new world, that we know about and take for granted, to this very day if those explorers didn't go out there and discovered these things, we wouldn't have of known about these particular things that they found.