First European Contact with Potatoes

In Central and South America potatoes have been cultivated for nutritional purposes for thousands of years. After Spanish explorers discovered the crop in Sorocotá on the high plains of Colombia in 1537, the plant found its way to Europe through the emerging maritime trade. Within 40 years potatoes were being cultivated in Spain; from there the crop spread, first to Italy and then, more slowly, to other European countries. Potatoes soon achieved great popularity. In the eighteenth and the nineteenth century, they became an important staple for the masses, especially in the diet of the poorer classes, for whom potatoes were often the only source of vitamins and nutrients. In this respect, the potato can be described as an important driver of European population increase. On the other hand, the enormous potato monocultures were subject to pests and diseases, which led to food crises, including the devastating Great Famine in Ireland between 1845 and 1852.