Шешімі: King Louis XVI and Potatoes

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Potatoes

The potato comes from the high and cool areas of the Andes of Peru. It began to be grown as food more than 7,000 years ago. When Europeans came to South America, they took the potato back to Europe.

In 1589, Sir Walter Raleigh, an English explorer and historian known for his expeditions to the Americas, first brought the potato to Ireland and planted the new vegetable there. In spite of the fact that the potatoes grew very well in the poor soil of Ireland, it took nearly 200 years for them to become a widely grown crop in Ireland and Great Britain. People didn’t like its unusual appearance and originally bitter taste. Besides, the potato was not mentioned in the Bible and it was often associated with the devil.

According to legend, Sir Walter Raleigh presented potato plants to Queen Elizabeth I. A special royal potato dinner was made and the noble men were invited to taste the new American vegetable. But the royal cooks didn’t know how to cook potatoes: they cut off and threw away the ugly-looking tubers and brought to the royal table a dish of boiled leaves (which are very poisonous). Most of the guests died after that royal dinner and potatoes were forbidden for many years.

Only two hundred years later farmers in Great Britain and Ireland began growing potatoes. Soon the rest of Europe started to follow Britain. The only country which did not accept potatoes was France. To overcome the negative attitude of the French people towards the new vegetable, King Louis XVI started to wear a potato flower as a decoration. He tried to make the people understand the benefit of potatoes as food. Even after the French king had given an order to his citizens to grow potatoes, they still were against the unfamiliar vegetable. The farmers refused to eat potatoes because of its unusual smell and taste. Then King Louis XVI decided to trick his people. In order to show the value of the potato, the king ordered to have it planted in a royal field and put guards to watch over the field. When the local farmers saw the guards at the royal field, they decided that the thing so carefully guarded must be valuable. One day, the guards were allowed to go off duty. The local farmers went into the field, dug out some potatoes and planted them in their fields. The king’s plan was a success. From this small start, the habit of growing and eating potatoes spread all over the country.

As Europeans began to grow potatoes, they realized the advantages of the new vegetable. The potato harvest was enough to feed their own families and to sell some to the citizens of towns and cities. The new food stimulated the development of cities and industries. Besides, the health of the people improved as they included potatoes in their diets. Now the potato is grown and enjoyed everywhere.