Teacher Training

Foods of the Columbian Exchange

Can you imagine the American Midwest without wheat fields, Italy without marinara sauce, or Spain without gazpacho? Wheat, tomatoes, chili peppers, and many other foods were transferred between the Old and New Worlds following Christopher Columbus’s first voyage to the Americas in 1492. This transfer of foods, as well as other plants, animals, humans, and diseases, is now known as the Columbian Exchange. Contact between Europe and the Americas resulted in a fantastic array of foods available globally. With the discovery of the New World, Europe secured enormous tracts of fertile land suited for the cultivation of popular crops such as sugar, coffee, oranges, and bananas. Upon introduction of these crops, the Americas quickly became the main suppliers of these foods to most of the world. In an effort to produce new ingredients for their markets, European empires laid claim to land in the New World, impacting the culture, language, religion, and politics in the Americas for centuries. Furthermore, the desire to grow valuable crops, procure prized resources, and transport them globally resulted in the rapid spread and transportation of enslaved populations from Africa to the Americas. Through the evaluation of sources from early modern books, art, maps, and recipes, many found within the Newberry Library’s own collections, we will examine foods of the Columbian Exchange and their lasting impact.

A History of Caffeinated Drinks in Early Modern Europe

Newberry Teachers’ Consortium, 2020. In the modern Western world, coffee, tea, and chocolate are viewed as daily necessities, found everywhere from convenience stores to chain restaurants to artisanal markets. These three caffeinated foodstuffs—all originally consumed as beverages—first made their way to Europe in the sixteenth century, awakening a continent accustomed to alcohol. Europeans adopted exotic drinks from faraway lands (Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and the Americas), assimilating foreign flavors into their daily diets. Over the course of three centuries, these drinks became popular in different pockets of Europe; geography, religion, class, gender, and politics highly influenced these preferences. Furthermore, these beverage preferences became entangled in the perilous economics of colonialism and slavery. Many contemporary texts and material goods were devoted to the consumption of coffee, tea, and chocolate. These included books and tracts by physicians, explorers, and theologians; recipes for the perfect cup of chocolate in manuscript recipe books and printed cookbooks; and dishware and tools for preparing and serving all three drinks. Through the evaluation of these and other sources pulled from early modern literature, art, economic records, maps, material goods, recipes, and more, many found within the Newberry Library’s own collections, we will examine the rise of coffee, tea, and chocolate in early modern Europe and the consequences of their popularity.

Myths and Realities of the Medieval Spice Trade

Newberry Teachers’ Consortium, 2019. Spices were an important commodity in medieval Europe with an allure and mythology dating back to Antiquity. Europeans used spices in culinary, medicinal, and religious applications, driving an enormous demand for these products. Prices rose to astronomical levels as all types of spices, from pepper to sugar to saffron, became revered luxury items and status symbols across Europe. European merchants sought out spices from Asia, travelling dangerous routes through the Middle East and Africa. Because spices were from distant lands and European consumers had no direct access to their sources, stories about spice origins flourished. Writers and artists recorded myths about pepper trees guarded by serpents and cinnamon requiring harvest from nests of fantastical birds built on perilous cliffs. These legends only added to their mystique and justified their expense. In this seminar, we will examine the rich history and lore of the spice trade through medieval and renaissance literature, art, economic records, maps, recipes, and more, many from the Newberry collections. While learning ways to study and teach these documents, we will navigate the complex historical context of the spice trade, exploring issues of business, religion, social and cultural status, and much more. We will also discuss the dramatic global consequences of the spice trade: the exploration of new routes to China and India resulting in the European discovery of the Americas and colonization of profitable regions around the world.