Horton Journal of Canadian History ~ Papers
The History of Prince Edward Island's Potatoe Industry
by Rita Metermaid [Pen Name]
That squat, prickly-faced lump you bake, boil, mash, deep-fry, and serve with catsup has had an extensive impact on Canadian culture and society. Everybody seems to be a fan of the potato in some form or another. "The average American eats 137.9 pounds of potatoes each year." ("Some Potato Facts")
In Canada, the potato industry is most potent in Prince Edward Island. The industry has changed over the years, but has also kept some of its traditions. The potato process of planting, cultivating, and harvesting, has remained fairly unchanged during the course of this century. The major change has been in the instruments and tools used to perform these tasks. As technology has grown, so has industry, and specifically, so has the potato industry.
The modern tractor is now favoured over the horse-drawn or foot-powered plough of old. Potato dilemmas like storage and transportation have been licked with inventions such as climate-controlled warehouses and refrigerated trucks. In the eleventh century A.D. the mouldboard, which helped turn over ploughed soil, was invented.
As the capitalist monopoly mentality tends to encourage, the last fifty years of the potato industry in Canada have seen a trend towards fewer farmers and larger farms. "It has been said that in the 1940's you could walk a mile down a country road and walk by a dozen farms; today you are unlikely to walk the same mile and find more than three farms." ("Then and Now")
This 80% water, 20% solid veggie has grown in popularity and been placed in various careers, but probably none so well-loved as the French fry... except perhaps for the potato chip. Spuds have been farmed for thousands of years, originally thought to have been cultivated by Peruvians 10 000 years ago, providing an ideal source of nutrition. The Mochia, Chimu, and Inca cultures developed frost-resistant forms of the potato called papa which they cultivated as part of their primarily vegetarian diet. These early Peruvians developed primitive foot ploughs and tools to aid in the potato cultivation. The Incas also developed a system of regular crop rotation to keep their soils fertile, and brewed a beer-like drink called chica from potatoes. The potato was a very big part of the South American culture. "The Quechua language records more than one thousand words to describe potatoes and potato varieties." ("Early Beginnings") It was a particularly useful crop in areas of higher elevation where crops such as wheat and maize could not grow, and potato became the nutritional sustenance. Ancient artefacts show the potato portrayed in Andean art in the form of sculptures and pottery. The potato was also believed to have medicinal qualities, and was rubbed on the skin of sick patients to remedy their illness. The Inca people worshipped potato gods and celebrated rituals to ensure crop success. ("Early Beginnings")
Potatoes made their way over to Europe, it is said, by route of early conquistadors, in the late 1500s, first being introduced in Spain, and later spreading across Europe. At first, the potato plant was feared as being unhealthy, impure or unchristian. It gained acceptance centuries later, and became much more commonly grown. It became known as a healthful remedy to illness and a powerful aphrodisiac. The potato ingratiated itself into European culture, and onto European palates, by rubbing elbows with royalty first. In the 1740s, Frederick the Great of Prussia, and King William of Germany, began to herald the potato in great campaigns, and introduce the little brown vegetables to their empires. The potato did not arrive in Ireland until 1600, when the Irish began to establish potato field crops, nurtured by a climate conducive to potato growth. It was quickly embraced by the Irish, and became an extremely common food and crop. It became so popular, it was soon the national food. ("Potato Migration to Europe")
Because most countries in Europe grew food enough to feed their population, there wasn’t much need to introduce the potato in great numbers. This, however, wasn’t the case in Ireland. It had been wrought with conflict--between the English rulers and Irish inhabitants--and between local nobles. This continuous conflict resulted in poor peasants, who struggled to grow enough food to feed themselves, let alone others. It grew rapidly in popularity because of its rapid growth, "producing more food per acre than any other crops Irish farmers had grown before". ("The Irish Potato Famine") It was a popular vegetable in times of war and peace. In war, soldiers would wreck farmers’ crops and livestock, but they couldn’t get at the potato, buried beneath the ground. In peace, the potato was thought of fondly as a "healthy and reliable source of food". ("The Irish Potato Famine")
Ireland was the first European country to come to depend on the potato as a major food source. Because of the potato’s abundance, and ability to feed large numbers, Ireland’s population grew exponentially. From under 3 million in the 1500s, to 8 million people in the 1800s, the people reproduced like potatoes. But when it rains, it tends to pour. When the fungus, Phytophthora infestans hit Ireland, it wiped out the potato crops in 1845, 1846, and 1848. People were left unemployed and starving. Almost one million died of famine or disease during this time, as those who could afford to, moved to the New World (mostly Canada and America) to start anew. If they managed to survive the disease-ridden conditions on the ship to the New World, they landed only to discover the potato famine had reached the New World as well.
A swift tide of potato growth came with the great influx of Scottish and Irish immigrants settling, and establishing potato crops. The spud gained popularity in America, especially when Thomas Jefferson went very openly pro-potato in 1789. "Jefferson can be given credit for introducing pomme-frites--the French word for French fries--to American cuisine". ("Return to the New World")
The evidence of Canadian potato cultivation dates as far back as 1623, in Port Royal, Nova Scotia. However, the potato was not grown as a major crop until much later. It is believed that potatoes re-emerged in the 18th century when the British gained control of the French North American colonies. In the 1760s, Colonel Charles Lawrence, Governor of Nova Scotia, "ordered that potatoes should be provided for settlers in Lunenburg". ("Return to the New World") There is little evidence of the Acadians having grown potato crops, but after their expulsion in 1755, the Governor indicated the lands stripped from the Acadians should be used to grow potato crops.
The French were the first inhabitants of present-day Prince Edward Island (then Isle-de-Saint-Jean). There is again no evidence that they cultivated potato crops, but the Prince Edward Island potato was introduced in 1758 when the British took over from the French. It was obvious in the beginning that Prince Edward Island was prime soil for potato crops. "The first Governor of the Island, Walter Patterson, reported in 1771 that the potato harvest was a "phenomenal success."" ("The Early Years PEI Potato Production") By 1790, the potato export industry in Prince Edward Island had begun, with small loads of potatoes being shipped to other colonies. Lord Selkirk further encouraged the potato industry, bringing settlers from the Scottish highlands to the Orwell Bay area, where he gave them potato plants to grow. For the first few years, the settlers ate almost exclusively cod and potatoes. In the beginning, the Prince Edward Island settlers had to clear the thickly-wooded Prince Edward Island, tree by tree, to make room for farms. "Statistics in 1805 indicate that of the 10,000 acres under cultivation on P.E.I. , 15% (1,500 acres) was devoted to potatoes. This acreage increased in time." ("The Early Years PEI Potato Production") Potato production decreased significantly during the years of 1845-1850, when the potato famine hit the New World. Another slump began in 1890 and lasted for roughly 30 years, during a time when it seemed, people just weren’t eating as many potatoes. Prince Edward Island’s world potato fame began in the 1920s, after the introduction of two new varieties: the Irish Cobbler, and the Green Mountain, and the furthering of processing technologies. "Between the years 1920 and 1930, potato acreage almost doubled and yields tripled. People began to sit up and take notice of the Island spud like never before." ("Potato Boom Time PEI Potato Production") In 1929, the Federal and Provincial governments began to work together. They developed a seed potato industry, and worked at controlling potato disease. (Seed potatoes are not intended for human consumption, but are cut into sets and planted; when they grow, they turn into tablestock potato varieties (for human consumption)). The politicians quickly realised that the small island was ideal for lucrative potato cultivation and export. The isolation factor, as well as the cold Canadian winters was natural elements to ward off disease. "Today, Prince Edward Island ranks first in potato production in Canada, growing just over 30% of Canadian production." ("Potato Boom Time PEI Potato Production")
The potato industry was a significant one for the lives of many Maritimers, Canadians, as well as immigrants from the United Kingdom. The industry diversified the culture of Canada, especially with the addition of waves of Scottish and Irish, as well as other Europeans, who settled in the Maritime provinces during the time of the potato famine. It also proved to have changed the dynamic of the farming industry, becoming one of the largest exported goods out of Canada. Technology played a major role in how Canadians, and specifically, Islanders, cultivated potato crops, and altered the trends of the industry. As procedures and tools were refined, the business became monopolised by a few scant farmers, compared to the number who farmed potatoes in the past. The public demand for potatoes is only increasing, and it seems that tatties in all of their various and funkified forms, will never lose their flavour.
Bibliography
"Early Beginnings". http://collections.ic.gc.ca/potato/history/beginnings.asp
"Potato Boom Time PEI Potato Production".http://collections.ic.gc.ca/potato/history/20thPEI.asp
"Potato Migration to Europe". http://collections.ic.gc.ca/potato/history/migration.asp
"Return to the New World". http://collections.ic.gc.ca/potato/history/newworld.asp
"Some Potato Facts".http://www.engin.umich.edu/~cre/web_mod/Potato/fact.htm
"The Early Years PEI Potato Production". http://collections.ic.gc.ca/potato/history/19thPEI.asp
"The Irish Potato Famine". http://collections.ic.gc.ca/potato/history/ireland.asp
"Then and Now". http://collections.ic.gc.ca/potato/thennow/pei1.asp
