History of Potatoes Timeline

(8000 BC - Present)

The history of potatoes traces the journey of one of the world's most important food crops, from its domestication in the Andean region of South America thousands of years ago, through its introduction to Europe by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, its transformative role in feeding growing populations, devastating events like the Irish Potato Famine, and its eventual establishment as a dietary staple across nearly every continent. More Less

Go to: Timeline | Event List | Key Facts | Directory

Origins and Domestication

Domestication of the potato in the Andes

8000 BC - 5000 BC

The potato was the first domesticated root vegetable in the region of modern-day southern Peru and extreme northwestern Bolivia between 8000 and 5000 BC, beginning its long history as a staple crop of Andean civilizations.

Image source: History of the potato

Domestication of the potato in the Andes

Stone tools suggest potatoes by 3400 BC

3400 BC

Recent evidence from stone tools suggests that potatoes existed as far back as 3400 BC, providing some of the earliest indications of human use of the tuber in the Andean region.

Earliest verified potato remains at Ancón

2500 BC

The earliest archaeologically verified potato tuber remains were found at the coastal site of Ancón in central Peru, dating to 2500 BC, confirming the potato's ancient presence along the Peruvian coast.

Ancient potatoes at Huaynuma and Chiripa

2000 BC - 500 BC

Potatoes dating to about 2000 BC were found at Huaynuma in the Casma Valley of Peru, and early potatoes dating to 800–500 BC were uncovered at the Altiplano site of Chiripa on the east side of Lake Titicaca.

Potatoes gain popularity in formative Andes

1500 BC - 500 BC

Archaeological evidence shows that throughout the formative period from 1500 BC to 500 BC and the Tiwanaku period in the Andes, potatoes and other tubers became increasingly popular as a crop and food.

Chono cultivation reaches southern Patagonia

1557

The potato was cultivated by the Chono tribe in Guaitecas Archipelago in Patagonia, the southern limit of Pre-Hispanic agriculture, as noted by a Spanish expedition's mention of Chiloé potato cultivation in 1557.

Image source: Guaitecas Archipelago

Introduction to Europe

Spanish conquistadors encounter the potato

1537

In 1537, a group of Spanish conquistadors became the first Europeans to encounter the potato while campaigning in South America.

Cieza de León describes the 'battata'

1553

In 1553, Pedro Cieza de León referred to the plant as a 'battata' in his Crónica del Peru, also mentioning he had seen it in Quito, Popayán and Pasto in 1538.

Image source: Pedro Cieza de León

Canary Islands become first European growing ground

1562

Shipping records show potatoes were introduced to the Canary Islands from South America around 1562, making them the first place outside Central and South America where potatoes were grown outside their native range.

First written mention: Canary-to-Antwerp receipt

Nov 28, 1567

The first written mention of the potato is a receipt for delivery dated 28 November 1567 between Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Antwerp, documenting early transatlantic trade in the tuber.

Potato arrives in Spain around 1570

1570

The potato arrived in mainland Europe sometime before the end of the 16th century via two ports of entry, the first being Spain around 1570.

Second port of entry via British Isles

1588 - 1593

Historians speculate leftover tubers were carried ashore and planted, with a second entry point for the potato into Europe coming via the British Isles between 1588 and 1593.

Clusius paints 'Papas Peruanorum'

1588

In 1588, botanist Carolus Clusius made a painting of what he called 'Papas Peruanorum' from a specimen in the Low Countries; in 1601 he reported potatoes were in common use in northern Italy for animal fodder and human consumption.

Image source: Carolus Clusius

Basque fishermen introduce potato to Ireland

1590

Basque fishermen from Spain used potatoes as ships' stores for voyages across the Atlantic in the 16th century and introduced the tuber to western Ireland, where they landed to dry their cod.

Spread Across the World

Potato spreads within France and Germany

1600

By the end of the 16th century in France, the potato had been introduced to Franche-Comté, the Vosges of Lorraine and Alsace, marking early continental spread beyond Iberia.

Ireland leads wide-scale cultivation

1625

Ireland was probably the first area of Europe to cultivate the potato on a wide scale in the early 17th century; by the 18th century the Irish population exploded and its people subsisted almost entirely on the crop.

Edward Terry notes potato in India

1675

Edward Terry mentioned the potato in his travel accounts of the banquet at Ajmer by Asaph Khan for Sir Thomas Roe, the British Ambassador, in 1675, an early record of the potato in India.

Fyer records potatoes in Surat and Karnataka gardens

1675

Fyer's travel record of 1675 noted potatoes among the vegetable gardens of Surat and Karnataka, showing the crop was taking root in the Indian subcontinent.

First certain North American crop in New Hampshire

1719

The earliest certain potato crop in North America was brought to New Hampshire in 1719 from Derry, establishing a foothold for cultivation in colonial America.

Qianlong-era boom spreads potatoes across China

1740 - 1796

After the middle period of the Qianlong era (1735–1796) in the Qing dynasty, population increases, grain yield needs, and greater peasant mobility led to rapid spread of potato cultivation throughout China.

Image source: Qianlong Emperor

Frederick II mandates potato cultivation in Prussia

1744 - 1756

Frederick II of Prussia strove to overcome farmers' skepticism about the potato, firmly establishing it in his kingdom from 1744, and in 1756 issued an official proclamation mandating its cultivation.

Image source: Frederick the Great

France and Germany promote potato fields after 1750

1750

In France and Germany, government officials and noble landowners promoted the rapid conversion of fallow land into potato fields after 1750, accelerating adoption across the continent.

Parmentier demonstrates potato nutrition

1774

French physician Antoine Parmentier studied the potato intensely and in Examen chymique des pommes de terres (Paris, 1774) showed its enormous nutritional value, boosting French acceptance of the crop.

Image source: Antoine-Augustin Parmentier

Bon Jardinier praises the potato

1785

The 1785 edition of Bon Jardinier declared there was no vegetable about which so much had been written or shown such enthusiasm, reflecting the potato's rising status across Europe by the late 18th century.

Potatoes cultivated across northern hill India

1800

By the end of the 18th century, the potato was cultivated across the northern hill areas of India, extending the crop's reach deep into Asia.

Fort Ross plants western North America's first crop

1812

In 1812 the Russian-American Company's Fort Ross planted a potato crop, the first in western North America and possibly a second, independent introduction of the potato into the continent.

Image source: Fort Ross, California

Ojibwe potato crops recorded in Minnesota

1820

During the 1820 Cass Expedition, James Duane Doty wrote of crops grown around Leech Lake, Sandy Lake, and Fond du Lac in present-day Minnesota, which the Ojibwe called waub-es-see-pin, indicating a type of potato.

Idaho begins potato planting

1838

Potatoes were planted in Idaho as early as 1838; by 1900 the state's production exceeded a million bushels (about 27,000 tonnes), laying the foundation for Idaho's famous potato industry.

Image source: Potato

Modern Era

French crop soars, avoiding Malthusian trap

1815 - 1840

France's annual potato crop soared to 21 million hectoliters in 1815 and 117 million in 1840, allowing population growth while avoiding the Malthusian trap.

Grain failure drives Russian potato adoption

1838 - 1839

Though familiar in Russia by 1800, potatoes were confined to garden plots until the grain failure of 1838–39 persuaded peasants and landlords in central and northern Russia to devote fallow fields to raising potatoes.

Great Irish Famine devastates Ireland

1845 - 1849

The blight arrived in Ireland in 1845, devastating a nation where the potato occupied one-third of arable land. The resulting famine led to approximately one million deaths and massive emigration to Britain, the U.S., Canada and elsewhere.

Image source: Great Famine (Ireland)

Key Facts

Potatoes were first domesticated around 8,000 years ago by indigenous peoples in the Andes region of modern-day Peru and Bolivia.
Spanish conquistadors introduced the potato to Europe in the second half of the 16th century, where it was initially met with suspicion before becoming widely cultivated.
The Irish Potato Famine (1845-1852), caused by potato blight disease, killed approximately one million people and forced over a million more to emigrate from Ireland.
German botanist Friedrich Anton Wilhelm von Hohenheim, known as Parmentier's contemporary Frederick the Great of Prussia, helped promote potato cultivation as a way to combat famine in Europe during the 18th century.
Today, China is the world's largest producer of potatoes, with the crop serving as a vital food source for billions of people worldwide.

Source

This History of Potatoes timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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