Outline for today:�� I. Brief Review� II. Lecture on The Columbian Exchange �III. Primary Sources: 16th-century recipes� IV. Make a Prediction: Spices�

History & Culture of Food in Italy

Week 4

The Columbian “Exchange”

Outline for today:�� I. Brief Review� II. Lecture on The Columbian Exchange �III. Primary Sources: 16th-century recipes� IV. Make a Prediction: Spices�

Quarter Sheet Feedback:

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Don’t put your name on the ¼ sheet.

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Answer the following in sentences or two:

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PLUS: What are some things you’d like to see a little more of?

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MINUS: What are some things you’d like to see a little less of?

The Big Question

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What were the consequences of what is called “the Columbian Exchange”?

I. Brief Review

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In your course journal (#10):

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What is “the Columbian Exchange”? What are some of the consequences of the Exchange? List at least five (whether good or bad).

II. Lecture on “The Columbian Exchange”

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Atahuallpa vs. Pizarro

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• Cajamarca (Peru), 16 November 1532
• 80,000 Inca warriors vs. 168 Spaniards

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Why/how did Pizarro conquer the Incas?

materialist explanation:

The Eurasians had superior

food production.

This begs

the question:

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Why did the Eurasians have superior food production?

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a late 19th cenutry Englishman

The “Big Five” Animals

The “Big Five” Animals native to Afro-Eurasia

The “Big Five” Animals native to the Americas

What about…

Wheat

Rye

Barley

Mais

Rice

The world’s most important grains

native to Eurasia

The world’s most important grains

native to Afro-Eurasia

Wheat

Rye

Mais

Rice

Barley

The world’s most important grains

native to the Americas

Wheat

Rye

Barley

Mais

Rice

a late 19th cenutry Englishman

The source of human infectious diseases

Flu

Pertussis

Malaria

Measles

Tuberculosis

The source of human infectious diseases

Flu

Pertussis

Malaria

Measles

Tuberculosis

Why did the Eurasians have superior food production?

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1.Better animal & plant candidates for domestication.

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2. East-West axes.

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a late 19th cenutry Englishman

To Afro-Eurasia: Potatoes

To Afro-Eurasia: Bell Peppers

To Afro-Eurasia: Tomatoes

Solanaceae (The Deadly Nightshade Family)

To Afro-Eurasia: Corn

To the Americas: Wheat

To the Americas: Sugar

To the Americas: Coffee

To the Americas: Rice

To the Americas: Cattle

To the Americas: Pigs

To the Americas: Horses

III. Primary Sources: 16th-century recipes

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First, we’ll divide into four 4-person groups. Each “research group” will work together, using the readings and the internet, to answer the following questions on a Columbian Exchange product:

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1. Where did this product originate?
2. How was it incorporated into Italian food culture?
3. What things helped or hindered its incorporation?
4. Which of the recipes do you see it in?

Group 1

Group 3

Group 4

Group 2

1. Where did this product originate?
2. How was it incorporated into Italian food culture?
3. What things helped or hindered its incorporation?
4. Which of the recipes do you see it in?

Research Groups

Within each group, count off by 4’s.

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All the 1’s from each group will gather in a new group. All the 2’s from each group will do the same, and so on.

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You’re the expert! In your new groups: take turns and teach your peers what your research group learned.

IV. Make a Prediction: Spices

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In your course journal (#11):

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Make a prediction: What was the role of spices in medieval Italian cuisine?

Take-Aways:

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• History has proximate and ultimate causes.
• The Columbian “Exchange” was an enormous biotic exchange that had positive and very negative consequences.
• Maps highlight some things and obscure others. Better maps of the Columbian Exchange can highlight some of the previously hidden consequences.

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