Consider the following fruits:PapayaPineappleGuavaHow many of the above were introduced in India by

Question

Consider the following fruits:PapayaPineappleGuavaHow many of the above were introduced in India by the Portuguese in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?

Accepted Answer

The European ‘discovery’ of America was followed by the dissemination of American food crops to different parts of the world. The Portuguese, being the earliest European nation to arrive in India, became the agents for introducing several American crops like maize, sweet potato and capsicums in the country. The Portuguese also introduced many ‘New World’ fruits like the pineapple, Papaya, Sapodilla, and the Guava which found acceptance and became part of Indian food culture. Pineapple, a crop found in the Americas was brought by the Portuguese to India during the sixteenth century. The Dutch traveler Linschoeten, who was in India during the 1580s, provides a brief account of the introduction of pineapple in India. The Portuguese brought the fruit from Brazil to India. It was initially an expensive fruit but the rapid spread of pineapple cultivation in the country led to reduction in prices.i Abul Fazl’s Ain-i-Akbari, written in the 1590s, mentions the pineapple as one of the many ‘sweet’ fruits grown in India. Describing the fruit, Abul Fazl writes: Pineapples are also called Kathal-i-Safari or Jackfruit for travels because young plants, put into a vessel, may be taken on travels, and will yield fruits. In color and shape they resemble an oblong orange and in taste and smell, a mango. Another fruit introduced in India was the Papaya. Linschoeten, who describes the fruit, wrote that the papaya came to India by way of Philippines and Malacca. It was initially highly regarded but it soon lost its novelty. Since Abul Fazl does not mention the fruit, it is certain that the papaya was not available in North India in the late sixteenth century. In 1623, the Italian traveler Pietro Della Valle came across the papaya in Portuguese Daman. He characterized it as being similar in taste and appearance to European melons but much sweeter Guavas (Psidium guajava) are native to Central America and are believed to have been introduced to India by Portuguese traders in the early 17th century