South American origins. The potato is grown by planting a piece of itself. When the European diet expanded to include potatoes, farmers were able to produce more nutritious food on smaller plots of land, which helped European birth rates and population to increase. The Spanish noticed that the sailors who ate papas (potatoes) did not suffer from scurvy. It has been argued that the first potatoes brought to Europe came from Chile (subspecies tuberosum), because they had been adapted to form tubers in the long summer days of southern temperate latitudes and would feel at home in Europe where the day length was similar. The potato gained a heightened intrinsic value overnight, and very quickly attracted widespread acceptance – today being one of the major foods in Europe and the rest of the world. The potatoes originally introduced to Europe were quite knobby and unlike the smooth ovals we see today that is a result of cultivators working towards that end. 28 July 1586: Britain is introduced to the potato On this day in 1586, Sir Thomas Harriot brought the first potato back to Britain from the 'New Found Land of Virginia'. In 1536 Spanish Conquistadors conquered Peru, discovered the flavors of the potato, and carried them to Europe. The potato first made its appearance in Europe about 1570, having been brought from South America by the Spaniards. It was also at least a hundred years after its arrival before the potato came to be accepted in any way as a food in the Mediterranean. Scientists have long known that it was a strain of Phytophthora infestans (or P. infestans) that caused the widespread devastation of potato crops in Ireland and northern Europe … The Inca Indians in Peru were the first to cultivate potatoes around 8,000 BC to 5,000 B.C. So that’s probably enough history on cheese and potatoes now- let’s get down … We've been in … So who did bring the potato to Ireland and when? He planted a field of potatoes in Sablon, hired a day guard, and spread a false report that he was growing something extremely valuable. I'm researching potatoes in a little project for Karlsson's Vodka.Today we'll look at how the potato came to Europe. One story claims that in 1765 pommes de terre, as they were called, were sometimes eaten by peasants, but peasants thought of them as extremely “coarse food.”To encourage people to eat potatoes, Parmentier decided to use a clever strategy. Within this species, however, more than 600 different varieties are known in Europe. When the potato was taken to Spain, only one variety was taken (Mann, 2011). Potatoes Travelled to Europe by Way of Spanish Conquistadors In 1532 conquistadors from Spain came sailing onto the scene searching for vast riches to bring back to Europe. 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