Latin American Studies ETDs
Publication Date
5-1-2015
Abstract
This research follows the movement of the American tropical root crop manioc [Manihot esulenta] throughout the Afro-Portuguese world between ca. 1500 to ca.1800. In addition to tracing the spatial movement of the plant, this thesis will also show how manioc was culturally redefined as an African crop and how this effected its reception and meaning upon returning to the New World from Africa. In tracking the geographical diffusion of the plant from the Americas to Africa, this research relies upon primary sources on the exploration of Brazil and Africa by European travelers and accounts of the early era of the slave trade, a dynamic system which allowed for the diffusion of plants, such as manioc, throughout the Atlantic basin. The second part of the research combines primary accounts speaking of maniocs importance to African populations, both free and enslaved, in the New World and secondary literature on the importance of food plants and cuisine in the later formation of Latin American and Caribbean identities. In following the spatial movement of the root and examining how the African associations attached to manioc were repeatedly renegotiated and redefined, this research shows the importance that food crops, and the cuisines derived therefrom, have played in the development of individual and national identities throughout the Atlantic world.
Language
English
Keywords
Brazil, Africa, Manioc, Crop diffusion, history, cuisine, food
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Latin American Studies
Level of Degree
Masters
Department Name
Latin American Studies
First Committee Member (Chair)
Bieber, Judy
Second Committee Member
Oakdale, Suzanne
Recommended Citation
Leestma, Joseph. "A Tropical Flour: Manioc in the Afro-Brazilian World, 1500-1800." (2015). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/ltam_etds/13
Comments
Submitted by Joseph Leestma (jcleestma@unm.edu) on 2015-04-15T21:32:12Z No. of bitstreams: 1 JCLeestma - A Tropical Flour, Manioc in the Afro-Brazilian World, 1500-1800.pdf: 634400 bytes, checksum: 5c49b7e5960165b1013f6d3be00852e2 (MD5), Approved for entry into archive by Doug Weintraub (dwein@unm.edu) on 2015-06-26T20:22:01Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 JCLeestma - A Tropical Flour, Manioc in the Afro-Brazilian World, 1500-1800.pdf: 634400 bytes, checksum: 5c49b7e5960165b1013f6d3be00852e2 (MD5), Made available in DSpace on 2015-06-26T20:22:01Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JCLeestma - A Tropical Flour, Manioc in the Afro-Brazilian World, 1500-1800.pdf: 634400 bytes, checksum: 5c49b7e5960165b1013f6d3be00852e2 (MD5)