LETTER: Potatoes and land reform
Those arguing for the expulsion of whites from farms are ignoring the inevitability of global human migration
SA politicians who still want to confront the root cause of “white” European imperialism have only to visit the fruit and veg section of their local supermarket. Francisco Pizarro’s 1532 Peruvian adventure unwittingly unearthed an even more valuable commodity, the potato, which slowly worked its way back to Europe, where its cultivation was encouraged by France’s Louis XVI and Frederick the Great of Prussia. Europe’s population had hit a Malthusian red line and famines, due to both war and bad harvests, were depressingly common. This nutritious tuber solanum tuberosum in effect doubled Europe’s food production while reducing afflictions such as scurvy, and the ensuing population boom provided factory workers for the industrial revolution. As Friedrich Engels noted, potatoes were as important as iron for the development of industrialisation. As the process continued in the 19th century, millions of Europeans migrated to overseas colonies, including southern Africa, creating and deve...
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