The Boston Tea Party Pt 1
Happy Friday!
This week, in honor of Independence Day in the United States, we kicked off our FOUR-part series on the Boston Tea Party. John and Patrick took us all the way back to the founding of the British East India Company and its eventual dominance over India and its entire economic structure. All of this drama unfolds just a few years before the famous tea protest in Boston. But what is the connection between India and Boston? As John pointed out in the episode, events in India profoundly influence the mood of colonial Americans. This is not the story you learned in high school social studies, folks. The path to Boston is complex and involves quite a bit of produce.
As we patiently wait for the next part in this series, we've picked out a few extra stories just for you involving mangoes and colonial consumerism.
Mesmerizing Mangoes
While the East India Company prioritized the production of cash crops in India, such as indigo, sugarcane, and calico, other crops intrigued British men working for the company. One of those intrigued men was James Forbes who set sail for India in 1765 as a Writer for the East India Company.
Arriving from England, the then 16-year-old must have found the vast new land overwhelming and lonely. To ease the absence of loved ones, Forbes turned to drawing, which he used to accompany his letters sent to family and friends back home. These drawings eventually featured in his four-volume account of his Indian experiences titled Oriental Memoirs.
One of the illustrations included in his correspondence depicted the mango. Forbes regarded the mango as India's finest fruit, a sentiment shared by many before him. Foreigners and conquerors had long praised its allure. Embedded deeply in Indian culture and society, the mango held significant ritualistic importance in Hinduism and Buddhism. It was also revered due to Mughal traditions of gifting seasonal fruits, making it a cherished fruit among the Indian populace.
In his letters, Forbes struggled to describe the appearance of this amazing fruit which he compared to European fruits like apples and peaches. When it came to describing the taste, Forbes wrote 'if you can conceive a fine nectarine, improved by the flavour of the pineapple, and still heightened by the orange, you may form some idea of a choice mango'. Where words failed Forbes, the visual media prevailed. Illustrated above is Forbes' drawing of a pair of mangoes from Mazagaon in Bombay which accompanied one of his letters.
Despite Forbes's admiration for the mango, he held a contrasting view towards the peasantry in India, whom he believed benefited from the fertile soil without exerting much effort. Like many British residents in India, Forbes underestimated the expertise of the Indian population. This missed opportunity was unfortunate because if Forbes and his Indian counterparts had exchanged knowledge, perhaps he could have successfully cultivated mangoes at Stanmore Hall in England. Regrettably, any attempts by Forbes to cultivate mangoes in England ended in failure.
Read more about James Forbes here.
The Colonial American Consumer
In this week's episode, John and Patrick discussed the East India Company's three-pronged model, crafted to maximize profits:
This setup positioned American colonists as the primary consumers of Company goods, including those considered objectionable by many in Britain. For instance, Banyans were highly favored in the colonies despite being outlawed in Britain. Indian bandannas, which later became a 20th-century fashion trend in America, served as kerchiefs and head-wraps in the colonies despite their prohibition in Britain.
Beyond textiles and calico, American colonists purchased a diverse array of goods from the Company. This included spices like pepper, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg, as well as porcelain and ceramics from China that reached even the most remote corners of colonial America. Saltpeter, essential for gunpowder production, was also supplied by the Company to American colonists. And of course, tea was another significant import—more on that in next week's episodes!
Become a leader in fresh produce
Whether you are a current student or a career professional, Cornell University's Food Industry Management Program is the place to expand your knowledge and expertise in the fresh produce industry.
Learn more about this premier food education program here.
Reading Produce History
Our special four-part series on the Boston Tea Party is inspired by Benjamin Carp's amazing book, Defiance of the Patriots. Carp's writing vividly brings to life the people and places central to this historic event. For a comprehensive and detailed account of the Boston Tea Party, this book is a must-read.
But wait! If you're a member of the History of Fresh Produce Club you can get this book at a DISCOUNT!
领英推荐
We partner with Books Are Magic, so that each week, HFP Club members can get either a 10% or 15% off books mentioned in the podcast. So, make sure to sign up today!
History test
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Livestream Event
Stay tuned as we announce our next LIVE STREAM soon!
In case you missed the last one, you can watch it on replay here:
DATES FOR YOUR CALENDARS
There's no shortage of stories to tell when it comes to fresh produce and history. Here's what's coming up over the next few weeks.
Tuesday, July 9th: The Boston Tea Party: Tea Goes Viral (Part 2)
Thursday, July 11th: The Boston Tea Party: Tyranny, Taxes and Tea (Part 3)
Tuesday, July 16th: The Boston Tea Party: From Protest to Revolution (Part 4)
Tuesday, July 23rd: The Olympics Series | France: The Story of Potager du Roi at Versailles
Thursday July 25th: The Olympics Series | China: Mao's Mango Mania, Australia: The Great Emu War
Thanks for reading, and please drop us a line in the comments or email ([email protected]) to let us know what you think of the newsletter and all things HOFP.
-John, Patrick and The History of Fresh Produce team