PART A The most significant physical geographical factor that contributed to the development of the ancient South American society of the Incas was the Andes Mountains. The Inca Empire had villages and cities throughout the Andes Mountains. Some of these settlements were as low as sea level and their capital, Cusco, was at an altitude of 11,200 feet. The Andes are considered some of the longest and highest mountain ranges. In fact it’s tallest peak, Mount Aconcaqua, in Argentina, tops out at 22,841 feet (Zimmermann, 2013). Despite the fact that people were traversing mountains the people flourished creating trails, aqueducts and agricultural practices that still exist today. Almost every aspect of the Incas life were affected by …show more content…
They noted the importance of the potato to the Incan Empire (Chapman, n.d.). Incas shared how to preserve potato by dehydrating it and mashing it. Once done, this substance could be stored for 10 years and provided a wonderful backup in case of crop failures. The conquistadors eventually used potatoes as rations on their ships and took it back to Spain (Chapman, n.d.). From there, the potato spread to other countries. Unfortunately, the potato was “regarded with suspicion, distaste and fear.” (Chapman, n.d.) Only animals were fed the potatoes at first but as time went on, the aristocracy of Europe began to encourage the lower classes to begin cultivating potatoes. Potatoes, however, did not become a staple until roughly 1795 and the food shortages that came during the time of the Revolutionary Wars in England. (Chapman, n.d.) In the 1620s the potato was introduced to the colony of Virginia courtesy of the British governor of the Bahamas. The potato didn’t truly spread until it received a seal of approval from Thomas Jefferson after serving them to guests at the White House (Chapman, n.d.). The potato continued it’s spread across the world and eventually became a staple part of meals (and snacks) the world over.
PART C Two of the most significant physical geographic or environmental factors that contributed to the development and expansion of the United States are the California Gold Rush and the Irish Potato
They became as important as wheat and rice. After they were settled down, people could not imagine their lives without those accustomed crops. Because of no necessity in cultivated soil, potato and corn grew well almost everywhere. Those crops saved lives of huge numbers of European poor people. Pigs and cattle were feed, which led to the increase of meat on the markets. The population of Europe and Asia grew tremendously since potato and maize were first introduced to the people. “Between 1650 and 1750, the population of Europe, including Asiatic Russia, increased from 103 million to 144; the population of Asia, excluding Russia, increased from 327 million to 475 million” (Stearns et al.
In the new world, Europeans encountered indigenous plant foods cultivated by Native Americas. These plants were potatoes, beans, corn, tobacco, and cocoa. The potato is especially important because it’s known for one of the main foods for Ireland. The European’s influenced oats and barley etc. Domesticated animals as pigs, chickens, sheep, and ox were also brought to the Americas. Horses were also brought to the new world which was a new tool for hunting and used for military.
Expansion and the development of the United States can be broken down into many significant historical factors. Two of them, The Gold Rush and The Dust Bowl are good examples. What is known to be the most famous geological event in U.S. history may well be the California Gold Rush, which began in 1849 after gold was discovered the year before at Sutter’s mill. Over 300,000 people traveled from far and wide to be a part of the fortune they seek. With this eruption of travel, the means of transportation were improved. For the nation, the glow generated by its gold rush made California a cynosure and produced a quick political reward. (Emmons & Udall, 2003, p. 125) Improvements as well as profits from hydraulic mining were enormous and the states economy boomed. The Dust Bowl brought on some big changes in the expansion and development of the United States. As the droughts of the early 1930’s deepened, the farmers kept plowing and planting and nothing would grow, the ground cover that held the soil was gone. The Dust Bowl of the 1930’s lasted about a decade and the movement of people was profound. Nearly 500,000 American people migrated
The two most significant environmental or physical geographic factors that contributed to the development or expansion of the United States is the California Gold Rush and the Irish Potato Famine. The first most significant factor was the California Gold Rush. Before gold was officially discovered in Northern California on January 24, 1848, Kelly (n.d.) states that the entire population of the California territory was around 25,000. A few years after California was admitted as the 31st state in The Union in 1850, a special census was taken and the population had grown to 223,856. Kelly (n.d.) also states that in San Francisco alone, the population was approximately 800 in 1848 to well over 50,000 at the close of 1849.
After the Spanish settled in America, many new foods and species of plants were introduced to the people of Eurasia, none of which they had said before. Although most of the exchange of food was from the New World to the Old World, Eurasia also introduced the America’s to wheat and grapes, two very important foods for mass. Potatoes and corn were a major part of the Columbian Exchange as they provided a lot of nutrition and were very easy to grow. They could grow in soil that was previously useless for agriculture. Other foods that spread across Europe were tomatoes, peppers, chocolate, beans, pineapples, avocados and blueberries. This exchange of food was the main reason that the worlds population doubled from 545,000,000 in 1600 to 1,128,000,000 in 1850 and historians often describe this massive increase in the nutritional value and variety of
When Europeans went to the new world they learned how to grow subsistent crops like the potatoes. Potatoes saved many lives in parts of Ireland, Scotland, and especially Russia, because of their harsh environment potatoes are one of the few crops that can grow. And as a result hundreds of thousands of people didn’t starve, which helped lead to European expansion.
Before 1500, potatoes were not become outside of South America. By the 1840s, Ireland was so subject to the potato that the proximate reason for the Incomparable Starvation was a potato malady. Potatoes in the long run turned into an imperative staple of the eating regimen in quite a bit of Europe. Numerous European rulers, including Frederick the Incomparable of Prussia and Catherine the Incomparable of Russia, supported the development of the potato. Maize and cassava, acquainted with the Portuguese from South America in the sixteenth century, have supplanted sorghum and millet as Africa's most essential sustenance crops. sixteenth century Spanish colonizers acquainted new staple yields with Asia from the Americas, including maize and sweet potatoes, and along these lines added to populace development in Asia. Tomatoes, which came to Europe from the New World by means of Spain, were at first prized in Italy basically for their decorative esteem . From the nineteenth century tomato sauces wound up run of the mill of Neapolitan food and, eventually, Italian cooking when all is said in done. Espresso from Africa and the Center East and sugarcane from the Spanish West Independents turned into the fundamental fare product harvests of broad Latin American manors. Acquainted with India by the Portuguese, bean stew and potatoes from South America have turned into a basic piece of Indian
Introduced to Europe in the mid 1500s, potatoes were able to strongly impact European lives. They originally grew in Peru but spread throughout South America and later in Europe. Potatoes were able to thrive in Ireland, Scandinavia, Germany, and Poland. Potatoes were able to feed many people and improve food supply. The potato was able to supply a steady amount of calories and nutrients which was able to provide a better life for people of the Old World. Potatoes quickly spread throughout Europe and became an important crop. Today people still use the potato for food and other uses such as making stamps and soothing headaches. When growing potatoes today, many diseases can occur. Some include early and late blight, potato scab, and bacterial ring rot.
Europe, Africa and the Americas were all involved in the agriculture exchange. The New World provided diverse crops; tobacco, maize, beans, tomatoes, potatoes, cacao beans and many more. Tobacco was a main source of income for some of the colonies because England had a high demand for the new addicting product. Maize was stable of the people’s diet as it grew and adapted quickly. Potatoes changed the poor man’s diet for many reasons. Potatoes were cheap and could survive harsh conditions. This made them ideal for people who
As the historical legend goes: in 1744, Frederick the Great of Prussia strived to cultivate the potato in an effort to lower the price of bread and rid the nation of a severe famine. His people were quick to oppose this proposition, though, believing the vegetable was a poisonous nightshade and the spawn of the Devil (as it is not mentioned in the Bible), or at the very least, tasteless and utterly disgusting that “not even the dogs will eat them” (Chapman). At first, the king carried out his Potato Edict with an iron fist, strictly requiring every peasant in the kingdom to grow the crop in their homes. Town records even show people being executed for their civil disobedience against this decree. Seeing little progress, Frederick the Great
The Inca Empire, similar to the Tiwanaku, was able to create a food surplus and used storage houses to store them. Once an Ayllu became apart of the Empire they were able to take what was needed from the storage houses, but they had to participate in the Mita and Mitmaq, forms of labor and draft system were people were used as warriors or public works in the communities. This system was able to help create the roads and suspension bridges needed for communication and
In the 16th century, the Spanish Conquistadors brought the Potato back with them to Spain after their voyage to South America. In Spain it grew slowly in popularity and it was not long before the Potato made its way across Europe. Europeans also gradually gained acceptance of the Potato plant, as it was a good source of food and growing the plant was relatively low maintenance.
The geography of the Andes mountains was rugged. People are rebuilding terraces, irrigation systems, reclaiming traditional crops, methods of planting. But modern farmers also believe that the Inca ways can offer simple solutions to protect a communities food supply in climate change. Today people still use terraces because they are still very useful on a farm, a hill, or a mountain terrain. Terraces are essential to the Inca because it is a reliable method of farming and agriculture. Terraces can grow potatoes easily, potatoes were important to the
The potato seems to us today to be such a staple food that it is hard to believe that it has only been accepted as edible by most of the Western world for the past 200 years. Our story begins thousands of years ago, in South America—Peru,
Vodka today commands 20% of the U.S. liquor market, and is one of the most popular drinks worldwide. In America today the potato is a facet of everyday life from the mashed potatoes we eat with our fast food chicken, to the potato that is a staple with pot roast, to everybody’s favorite McDonalds french fries.