What would be the consequences of early potatoes in europe?

[WardenKnight]

So I hope this question is not spam or ASB.

Suppose potatoes come much sooner come to Europe. About the Iron Age. What would be the consequences and how would it affect Europe?

 

[Jürgen]

Honestly you can see the result in OTL, it moved the centre of European population north, a earlier introduction will likely result in even greater population growth in Northern Europe than in OTL, The peninsular Nordic countries could have a vastly bigger population with a earlier introduction of potatoes, so could Russia too.

Of course the main effect will also depend on the early adopters, if Potatoes as example are introduced in 11th century Germany, Poland and Slovakia would likely speak German by modern day.

 

[Lusitania]

Ok so potatoes come from Andes mountains. There was no contact between the people living in the Andes and Europe or Asia. Not even between them and natives in Central America or North America.

Unlike Eurasia where a plant or animal can be transported /migrate from Britain to Japan. That is not the case of americas. Corn from North America did not make it to South America or potatoes from Andes make it north to mountains or plains of North America. Heck it never left the Andes mountains.

So it would be ASB. Sorry

 

[Jared]

Ok so potatoes come from Andes mountains. There was no contact between the people living in the Andes and Europe or Asia. Not even between them and natives in Central America or North America.

Unlike Eurasia where a plant or animal can be transported /migrate from Britain to Japan. That is not the case of americas. Corn from North America did not make it to South America or potatoes from Andes make it north to mountains or plains of North America. Heck it never left the Andes mountains.

So it would be ASB. Sorry

If the underlying POD was in South America, then it could be potatoes spreading earlier across parts of the Caribbean. From there, a few potatoes could conceivably get caught in driftwood, and float along the Gulf Stream until they are deposited somewhere on the shore of Ireland or Scotland.

This would technically fulfill the OP criterion of "potatoes come much sooner to Europe", albeit not in a form where they could be cultivated.

 

[Arkenfolm]

Ok so potatoes come from Andes mountains. There was no contact between the people living in the Andes and Europe or Asia. Not even between them and natives in Central America or North America.

Unlike Eurasia where a plant or animal can be transported /migrate from Britain to Japan. That is not the case of americas. Corn from North America did not make it to South America or potatoes from Andes make it north to mountains or plains of North America. Heck it never left the Andes mountains.

So it would be ASB. Sorry

Aren't there reports from the conquistadors of potatoes being grown in some parts of Mexico?

 

[Lusitania]

If the underlying POD was in South America, then it could be potatoes spreading earlier across parts of the Caribbean. From there, a few potatoes could conceivably get caught in driftwood, and float along the Gulf Stream until they are deposited somewhere on the shore of Ireland or Scotland.

This would technically fulfill the OP criterion of "potatoes come much sooner to Europe", albeit not in a form where they could be cultivated.

But the interesting thing is there was no recorded evidence potatoes cultivation outside the Andes not along the Brazilian coast or even in Rio la plata region. So we need a POD for trade between Central American tribes and Andes tribes for potatoes to become a common plant in the north American east coast. Then it could have a chance of getting carried out to sea and maybe establish itself along Europe coast. From there someone will discover it and slowly spread.

 

[Deleted member 83898]

Perhaps the potato is eventually spread to NA's Eastern Seaboard and Newfoundland as a result of trade, and traveling Norse stumble across the versatile tuber and introduce it to Europe in the 10th/11th century?

I imagine that the early proliferation of the potato outside of its Andean cradle would have profound effects on both Europe and the Native American civilizations which adopted it.

W/R/T Europe, the famines of the early fourteenth century are probably delayed or averted entirely. I wonder how a healthier and better fed Europe deals with the Black Death? I imagine that the death toll would be significantly lower with less of the continent suffering from chronic malnutrition.

Politically, the polities of Northern Europe and Scandinavia in particular are going to be much stronger than IOTL, especially if they are the first Europeans to get a hold of it. Europe in general will become more populous than OTL more quickly than OTL, but Scandinavia in particular will be stronger and vastly more populous.

How does a less severe Black Death influence the demographic, political, and technological development of Europe from the mid-14th century onwards?

 

[Deleted member 97083]

Russia, whether a proper empire or not, will become massive much earlier.

 

[Flocculencio]

Handwaving the exact method of their introduction, I'd like to point out that historically the introduction of potatoes led to massive increases of population all across temperate Eurasia. I remember reading about how in the 16th C, enthusiastic tobacco cultivation in parts of China led to soil exhaustion and famine was only staved off by the fact that potatoes provided a fallback.

 

[GauchoBadger]

Would the earlier introduction of potato lead to longer-lasting or shorter-lasting feudalism?
No famines, no peasant revolts. With the peasants able to cultivate food for their own selves in the form of potatoes, we'd see them happy and compliant.

 

[kasumigenx]

I think there is an alternative to that it is having sweet potato arrive in the Spice Islands and have it cultivated there, from there have it traded to the islamic world and the west.

 

[marcinL]

Would the earlier introduction of potato lead to longer-lasting or shorter-lasting feudalism?
No famines, no peasant revolts. With the peasants able to cultivate food for their own selves in the form of potatoes, we'd see them happy and compliant.

More productive peasant means cheaper food and more people who wouldn't have to work in agriculture, likely more nobles-knights, more priests and monks, and finally more burghers and artisans in general.

 

[Shoshana]

Which part of the iron age would you like them introduced?

The further back you go, the higher the solanine levels. The Tawantinsuyu began cultivating potatoes from 200 Before Counter. Although they were consumed before then too. Villagers would take their potato harvests to mountaintops, where the potatoes were left overnight to freeze. Next day, the villagers would return to their harvests, bring them down from the mountains, spread them out in the sun and step on them to break the potato skins. The breaking of the skins and thawing process ruptures the cell walls, allowing water to escape and carry away the toxic solanine. The process was usually repeated over 3 successive nights.
Centuries of breeding and cultivation led to less toxic varieties which the OTL Spanish found. Originally early potatoes in Europe were used for animal feed. It took a little while for them to become a popular crop. You also have the issue of how many varieties are you introducing? Without sufficient varieties, the potato crops will be susceptible to disease. Which was the cause of some early potato related famines in Europe. Later somebody bred a potato hybrid which was resilient to disease.

So if you would like a much earlier introduction of potato. Whoever gets them to Europe HAS to know the Tawantinsuyu cultivation and freeze drying methods to remove the solanine. Which means some sort of contact, maybe via trade. With the right PODs I guess you could have a spice trade analog develop between the Tawantinsuyu and classical Mayans, and then go from there. Or alternatively have a maritime civilization island hop across the south pacific. If they're lucky enough, they make first contact with the Tawantinsuyu and begin trade. Perhaps the maritime civilization views the potato as something worth trading for, and takes them back. Introducing them to China and India, and from there they spread west until they eventually reach Europe.
Alternatively, have trade contact between the Tawantinsuyu and Maya. So potatoes reach the Caribbean shore, then perhaps a maritime civilization like Qart-Hadash (Carthage) makes an accidental discovery. Maybe after a ship gets blown off coarse. Or with sufficient advances in ship building, a wealthy sailor feels adventurous and sails west on a whim.

Consequences for Europe really depend on how fast they can produce a hybrid potato more resistant to disease, and how well the populations accept it. If you can get an early potato hybrid and everybody loves them, they will do well. Which means a higher population. The high nutritional value of potatoes means stronger resistance to diseases like tuberculosis and measles. So again, that's great for those eating them.

 

[ShortsBelfast]

If you postulate an earlier intra-American and American/European potato trade, then it logically follows that the Amerindian populations are also denser than OTL and have experienced earlier introduction to European diseases presumably also. So Europe's interaction with the New World would be profoundly different and colonies would be more trade and subjugation (as in Africa or India) than settler colonies as OTL

 

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

Ok so potatoes come from Andes mountains. There was no contact between the people living in the Andes and Europe or Asia. Not even between them and natives in Central America or North America.

Unlike Eurasia where a plant or animal can be transported /migrate from Britain to Japan. That is not the case of americas. Corn from North America did not make it to South America or potatoes from Andes make it north to mountains or plains of North America. Heck it never left the Andes mountains.

So it would be ASB. Sorry

False

Maize was key in early Andean civilisation, study shows

They also had peppers, iirc.

However, I do NOT no of any crop that made it's way up north.

 

[Richard V]

The only plausible way is have the Pheonicians explore the Andes. They would more likely bring back maize, and this would be late Iron Age but still qualifies.

 

[edgeworthy]

Interestingly the Potato doesn't seem to appear in the Classic ISOT?

Odd really!

 

[clem attlee]

Ok so potatoes come from Andes mountains. There was no contact between the people living in the Andes and Europe or Asia. Not even between them and natives in Central America or North America.

Unlike Eurasia where a plant or animal can be transported /migrate from Britain to Japan. That is not the case of americas. Corn from North America did not make it to South America or potatoes from Andes make it north to mountains or plains of North America. Heck it never left the Andes mountains.

So it would be ASB. Sorry

Perhaps migrating swallows carried one.

 

[leopard9]

The only plausible way is have the Pheonicians explore the Andes. They would more likely bring back maize, and this would be late Iron Age but still qualifies.

How would the Phoenicians get to the Andes? Could they even sail that far?

Regardless on how they get to Europe, once they're there, they result in higher populations, larger cities earlier on, and perhaps a faster end to feudalism, if they're introduced during the Middle Ages. Either people eat them directly, which then results in more people, or they're used as animal feed at first, which results in a greater amount of animal products such as meat, butter, cheese, hides, etc., which also then indirectly results in higher populations. The further back in OTL you go, the greater the butterflies.

 

[JoshuaTheRoman]

The only plausible way is have the Pheonicians explore the Andes. They would more likely bring back maize, and this would be late Iron Age but still qualifies.

Not necessarily. I had posted a thread about Carthaginians establishing colonies in West Africa, which in turn heavily influences the natives in the region. Eventually, this leads to them establishing the Colombian Exchange before the 600s. With time, I see them bringing potatoes to Europe much earlier than OTL.