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The Taste of Empire: How Britain's Quest for Food Shaped the Modern World
A history of the British Empire told through twenty meals eaten around the world
In The Taste of Empire, acclaimed historian Lizzie Collingham tells the story of how the British Empire's quest for food shaped the modern world. Told through twenty meals over the course of 450 years, from the Far East to the New World, Collingham explains how Africans taught Americans how to grow rice, how the East India Company turned opium into tea, and how Americans became the best-fed people in the world. In The Taste of Empire, Collingham masterfully shows that only by examining the history of Great Britain's global food system, from sixteenth-century Newfoundland fisheries to our present-day eating habits, can we fully understand our capitalist economy and its role in making our modern diets.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 2, 2016
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3770 people want to read
About the author
Lizzie Collingham
7 books66 followersDr. Elizabeth M. Collingham is an English historian interested in linking the minutiae of daily life to the broad sweep of historical processes. Her first book, Imperial Bodies, explored the physical experience of the British raj and the way in which concerns about race and imperialism found expression in debates about physique and diet.
She studied at Sussex and Cambridge where she completed her PhD on the nabobs of the British Raj. She has lectured at Warwick University and been a reasearch fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge.
She studied at Sussex and Cambridge where she completed her PhD on the nabobs of the British Raj. She has lectured at Warwick University and been a reasearch fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 166 reviews
January 10, 2019
The most important chapter in this book was the book on the slavers going out to Africa to purchase their human product, their stock. These men were dealing with Black African slave-brokers who had tea salons, imported food and clothes from Paris and gave tea and dinner parties. They we.re no worshippers of the White-man's beads but sophisticated traders in human flesh themselves.
The British slavers far from being racist, married high-status local women who were involved in the trade to smooth their way, and obviously had mixed race children. I can't make up my mind which is the most shocking - to think that Black people are an inferior 'race' of human beings and is therefore morally ok to treat them as property and use them as farm animals? Or to be fully aware that these people are exactly the same as you so it is not a problem to marry them and have families with them - families who will not be property. Or to be Black and to have an endless history of slaves as trade in their communities and to expand it to the White man who pays quite a lot more and buys in quantity?
Not that it matters if you were captured, enslaved, sold and for generations beyond your understanding you and the children bred from you would just be property to be worked unto death. As my family were in the West Indies.
That chapter more than any other really impacted me because it was a view of slavery from a completely different angle. It goes together, to my mind, with Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" in which the last slave in America, who was captured in Africa at the age of 19, describes the extent of the trade, the violence and callousness of the capturers, other Africans just like themselves.
The book is a 4 star. That chapter is a 10 star chapter.
__________
Notes on reading In Tudor times there were many meatless days ordained by the Church. Fish days were especially disliked by sailors as it usually meant salt cold. On the last day in port, Henry VIIIth on the flagship discussing plans for war with the French navy that had sailed and were expected next day, the gunship had a fish day. This is what each sailor's rations were:
salt cod
4oz cheese
2oz butter
1 loaf of bread
1 gallon of beer
Turned out it was their last meal for most of them (only 40 out of 400 men survived). as the Mary Rose sank from the cannons of the French navy, the entire battle watched by Henry VIII. Bet that put him off his food for a day or two.
The British slavers far from being racist, married high-status local women who were involved in the trade to smooth their way, and obviously had mixed race children. I can't make up my mind which is the most shocking - to think that Black people are an inferior 'race' of human beings and is therefore morally ok to treat them as property and use them as farm animals? Or to be fully aware that these people are exactly the same as you so it is not a problem to marry them and have families with them - families who will not be property. Or to be Black and to have an endless history of slaves as trade in their communities and to expand it to the White man who pays quite a lot more and buys in quantity?
Not that it matters if you were captured, enslaved, sold and for generations beyond your understanding you and the children bred from you would just be property to be worked unto death. As my family were in the West Indies.
That chapter more than any other really impacted me because it was a view of slavery from a completely different angle. It goes together, to my mind, with Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" in which the last slave in America, who was captured in Africa at the age of 19, describes the extent of the trade, the violence and callousness of the capturers, other Africans just like themselves.
The book is a 4 star. That chapter is a 10 star chapter.
__________
Notes on reading In Tudor times there were many meatless days ordained by the Church. Fish days were especially disliked by sailors as it usually meant salt cold. On the last day in port, Henry VIIIth on the flagship discussing plans for war with the French navy that had sailed and were expected next day, the gunship had a fish day. This is what each sailor's rations were:
salt cod
4oz cheese
2oz butter
1 loaf of bread
1 gallon of beer
Turned out it was their last meal for most of them (only 40 out of 400 men survived). as the Mary Rose sank from the cannons of the French navy, the entire battle watched by Henry VIII. Bet that put him off his food for a day or two.
February 12, 2019
The concept isn’t new. You may have read Salt or one of the other books in this vein. One of the nice things about discussing foodstuffs is that we can all relate to buying, cooking, eating. Another fortunate thing is that there is plenty of information out there about cost, amount, use, etc.
Collingham starts with Henry VIII’s reign and observes that the nice things in life that the English want include: wine, raisins and art. All that they have to pay for these with are wool and textiles. She traces the beginnings of English ventures into cod fishery, and the consequent establishment of a type of “factory” in Newfoundland which eventually expands into a colonial foothold in North America. The vast quantities of cod that are brought back make many on England’s west coast rich and there grows a very substantial merchant navy.
By the middle of the Seventeenth Century, the focus has shifted to sugar. Barbados is the center of this and Collingham notes that it has become England’s richest colony. The destruction of that island (and others) to serve the demands for sugar is marked by the enslavement of indigenous people and the importation of first “indentured servants” and then slaves from Africa. The need is great, not only because sugar is in such demand, but because the work is so dangerous and arduous that 20,000 workers need to be replaced yearly. This is aside from the ecosystem destruction that lingers on centuries later.
It is with this sort of example and many telling statistics that Collingham proceeds through the decades and centuries. It is fascinating to lay this side-by-side with other “histories” of the British Empire. Though this may be too “dull” for those who like their history focused on battles and royalty, I found it quite illuminating.
Collingham starts with Henry VIII’s reign and observes that the nice things in life that the English want include: wine, raisins and art. All that they have to pay for these with are wool and textiles. She traces the beginnings of English ventures into cod fishery, and the consequent establishment of a type of “factory” in Newfoundland which eventually expands into a colonial foothold in North America. The vast quantities of cod that are brought back make many on England’s west coast rich and there grows a very substantial merchant navy.
By the middle of the Seventeenth Century, the focus has shifted to sugar. Barbados is the center of this and Collingham notes that it has become England’s richest colony. The destruction of that island (and others) to serve the demands for sugar is marked by the enslavement of indigenous people and the importation of first “indentured servants” and then slaves from Africa. The need is great, not only because sugar is in such demand, but because the work is so dangerous and arduous that 20,000 workers need to be replaced yearly. This is aside from the ecosystem destruction that lingers on centuries later.
It is with this sort of example and many telling statistics that Collingham proceeds through the decades and centuries. It is fascinating to lay this side-by-side with other “histories” of the British Empire. Though this may be too “dull” for those who like their history focused on battles and royalty, I found it quite illuminating.
April 11, 2018
In the very last chapter of The Hungry Empire, Lizzie Collingham writes: “To trace the history of the ‘national’ foods of former British colonies is to create a map of the web of connections the British Empire wove around the globe.”
This is the basic gist of this ambitious book (an ambition which I think it fulfills): to prove how, beginning with Britain’s first excursions overseas in search of food—the fishing and subsequent production of salt cod in New Foundland—Britain’s increasing empire dictated the diets of people both in Britain and in its colonies. Collingham examines this theme across twenty chapters, each chapter beginning with a description of a meal, mostly real or, in a few instances, fictitious (among the writers whose fictitious meals are described here are Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Gaskell). Following the description of the meal is an extensive and interesting insight into the politics, the agriculture, the trade, the society, and other factors that went into making that meal possible and representative of a certain time and space. Each chapter also includes a recipe relevant to that chapter.
What I loved about this book was that I learned so much out of it. Not just about food (though there’s plenty there, some of which—like the recipe for dressing mock turtle—made me feel a bit sick), but so much more, too. About society, in Britain and in its colonies. The stark differences in diet between the wealthy and the poor. The way agriculture itself—how it was done, and what was grown—changed, everywhere from the West Indies to America, from Africa to India—in order to make life easier (and profits greater, meals more interesting) for the British. How sugar became such an integral part of life across the world. Or how things that never grew in Britain—tea, sugar, almost every interesting ingredient of the so very English Christmas pudding itself—became a symbol for Britishness.
I also liked that Collingham shows both sides of the coin: on the one hand, the interesting developments in food and cuisine; on the other, the devastating effect of colonisation—in the realm of food, if no other—on the colonised. Her accounts of ruthless price regulations and skewed food trade to benefit Britain, at the cost of its colonies, during World War II, are horrifying.
Plus, of course, now I have some idea of what to do if a dead iguana ever comes my way and I have to cook it.
This is the basic gist of this ambitious book (an ambition which I think it fulfills): to prove how, beginning with Britain’s first excursions overseas in search of food—the fishing and subsequent production of salt cod in New Foundland—Britain’s increasing empire dictated the diets of people both in Britain and in its colonies. Collingham examines this theme across twenty chapters, each chapter beginning with a description of a meal, mostly real or, in a few instances, fictitious (among the writers whose fictitious meals are described here are Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Gaskell). Following the description of the meal is an extensive and interesting insight into the politics, the agriculture, the trade, the society, and other factors that went into making that meal possible and representative of a certain time and space. Each chapter also includes a recipe relevant to that chapter.
What I loved about this book was that I learned so much out of it. Not just about food (though there’s plenty there, some of which—like the recipe for dressing mock turtle—made me feel a bit sick), but so much more, too. About society, in Britain and in its colonies. The stark differences in diet between the wealthy and the poor. The way agriculture itself—how it was done, and what was grown—changed, everywhere from the West Indies to America, from Africa to India—in order to make life easier (and profits greater, meals more interesting) for the British. How sugar became such an integral part of life across the world. Or how things that never grew in Britain—tea, sugar, almost every interesting ingredient of the so very English Christmas pudding itself—became a symbol for Britishness.
I also liked that Collingham shows both sides of the coin: on the one hand, the interesting developments in food and cuisine; on the other, the devastating effect of colonisation—in the realm of food, if no other—on the colonised. Her accounts of ruthless price regulations and skewed food trade to benefit Britain, at the cost of its colonies, during World War II, are horrifying.
Plus, of course, now I have some idea of what to do if a dead iguana ever comes my way and I have to cook it.
November 18, 2020
The text ranges from the 16th to the 21st century from the perspective of Britain and its empire, employing the production and consumption of foodstuffs (including opium) in a series of case studies in order to describe aspects of the creation of world markets and, incidentally, the differentiation of the 'first' and 'third' worlds and the maintenance of class oppression in the former. It is, subtly so, a radical work.
Such objection as I have is that there is no chronological thread. Instead author Collingham jumps from century to century, continent to continent, without, so far as I could discern, any organizing principle--unless perhaps it's to underscore how the formal instrumentalities of oppression recur, again and again, irrespective of period or place.
Readable, entertaining, punctuated by representative recipes and the occasional ironies of nationalist conceits.
Such objection as I have is that there is no chronological thread. Instead author Collingham jumps from century to century, continent to continent, without, so far as I could discern, any organizing principle--unless perhaps it's to underscore how the formal instrumentalities of oppression recur, again and again, irrespective of period or place.
Readable, entertaining, punctuated by representative recipes and the occasional ironies of nationalist conceits.
May 4, 2018
What a delightful and original way to sidle into history, with stories of food, entertaining on the surface and revealing in the depths.
Lizzie Collingham has written a deeply-researched and lively account of the role of food, and the pursuit of new foods, in changing the global economy, beginning in the sixteenth century with salt cod, which was produced on the shores of Newfoundland as a portable food for British sailors. Salt cod soon became part of a trade route, traveling from Newfoundland in British merchant ships to the Mediterranean, traded for wine, olive oil, and currants to take back to England.
From there Collingham moves forward through twenty such stories (West Indian sugar, Carolina rice, China tea) toward a concluding section that soberly examines the ways in which the colonial empire fed the mother country, especially during World War II, often to the sacrifice of the colony. (Churchill does not come off well.) Though her conclusions are indeed serious, Collingham relishes the joy in food and in the pursuit of pleasure over four centuries.
The stories are often fun, and each of the twenty chapters begins with the story of a meal. We learn from a 17th-century New England cottage that has no table but serves a satisfying meal; from a tea party in a Manchester slum that illustrates a diet lacking in nutrients; from a British soldier’s meal in North Africa during World War II, its mostly tinned components from all over the Empire.
And we thought mangoes from Chile were a new phenomenon?
The revered Christmas pudding is a child’s geography lesson, with spices and fruits from every continent, and it becomes a touchstone for this story. We may cringe at the cruelties of the often rapacious trade, but we can enjoy the cast of characters who prepare and eat the meals. Such is Collingham’s skill that I will remember both.
Lizzie Collingham has written a deeply-researched and lively account of the role of food, and the pursuit of new foods, in changing the global economy, beginning in the sixteenth century with salt cod, which was produced on the shores of Newfoundland as a portable food for British sailors. Salt cod soon became part of a trade route, traveling from Newfoundland in British merchant ships to the Mediterranean, traded for wine, olive oil, and currants to take back to England.
From there Collingham moves forward through twenty such stories (West Indian sugar, Carolina rice, China tea) toward a concluding section that soberly examines the ways in which the colonial empire fed the mother country, especially during World War II, often to the sacrifice of the colony. (Churchill does not come off well.) Though her conclusions are indeed serious, Collingham relishes the joy in food and in the pursuit of pleasure over four centuries.
The stories are often fun, and each of the twenty chapters begins with the story of a meal. We learn from a 17th-century New England cottage that has no table but serves a satisfying meal; from a tea party in a Manchester slum that illustrates a diet lacking in nutrients; from a British soldier’s meal in North Africa during World War II, its mostly tinned components from all over the Empire.
And we thought mangoes from Chile were a new phenomenon?
The revered Christmas pudding is a child’s geography lesson, with spices and fruits from every continent, and it becomes a touchstone for this story. We may cringe at the cruelties of the often rapacious trade, but we can enjoy the cast of characters who prepare and eat the meals. Such is Collingham’s skill that I will remember both.
February 23, 2018
Unexpectedly great! It artfully manages to weave all those popular "one thing that influenced the world" books in a coherent, restrained yet utterly enlightening narrative. And since it deals with a truly global and ever reaching empire it could be called the best take on the popular world food history so far. I absolutely didn't count on such a masterful execution! Sheer brilliance!
January 16, 2018
Sometimes (or really every single minute) when I'm reading the news I think, "Why is the world like this?" This question may also occur to you when you're staring at bags of cherries in the grocery store, and all of them have a sticker on them that says, "Grown in Chile." Or when you're at the Korean grocery store in suburban San Diego looking at shrimp caught in Thailand and you mentally count the miles and hours (inaccurately, in my case, but with vague unease). Basically this book, each chapter of which begins with the description of an actual meal served somewhere on earth to people who had, in most cases, left their home continents for far off places, tells you in the most vivid terms why we eat and drink the way we do, and what's more, makes you see that it was not greed, always, that motivated global trade. It was hunger and the desire for small, familiar comforts. The titles of the chapters set the tone: "In which it is fish day on the Mary Rose, anchored in Portsmouth harbour (Saturday 18 July 1545): How the trade in Newfoundland salt cod laid the foundations of Empire." Collingham's breadth and depth is truly astonishing, with subsequent chapters set in Ireland (1698), New England (1647), Barbados (1640), the west coast of Africa (1686), and Covent Garden (1667). And that's just part one. The other chapters feed and sail you through the centuries, meal after meal, tea cup after tea cup, turning huge trade swings into the stories of people just like us who had dinner to make and work to finish and who--like us--turned to sugar and wheat all too often.
did-not-finish
November 5, 2017Provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Great resource for anyone interested in the British Empire, colonization and the connection of both with food. The chapters are all centered around a dish and the history behind it. This just didn't work for me. It made it hard for me to stay in the rhythm and keep reading. I do recognize that this book contains a lot of good information and interesting stories. Maybe I will give this a second chance in the future, but right now I prefer moving on to something else.
Great resource for anyone interested in the British Empire, colonization and the connection of both with food. The chapters are all centered around a dish and the history behind it. This just didn't work for me. It made it hard for me to stay in the rhythm and keep reading. I do recognize that this book contains a lot of good information and interesting stories. Maybe I will give this a second chance in the future, but right now I prefer moving on to something else.
August 1, 2020
這本書的型式十分特別。作者從十六世紀起，截取廿段英國關於「飲食」方面的書面記錄與食譜，帶出了大英帝國四百年來的政治、思想與文化方面的歷史發展過程。整體說來，由於本書各個章節的篇幅都不長，讀者似乎可以輕輕鬆��地按著順序閱讀下去。然而，或許由於作者描述的材料比預想還要多出許多，所以我在閱讀時常常會驚覺到，在文內的某些小段落，其實是篇非常龐大的主題。可以說，本書在讀畢之後所獲得的概念彷彿很單薄，但當中卻含有非常多的細節可作為許多研究的素材。
以前就在其它書籍中閱讀過，關於「英帝國」這個已經逝去的國際強權，他們的立國思想是「自由貿易」。因此本書作者藉由各個飲食方面的小片斷，闡述著這個逐漸成形的帝國人民生活，是多麼地受到「貿易」所帶來的便利、以及它所推動的各項發展與創新，並重新塑造了近代與現代世界的樣貌。很多各地所認為的「民族國菜」，或多或少都不能是「古以有之」的配方材料，而是受到其它地區運輸過來的物產與殖民者的影響，改造成所謂的具有地方特色的「傳統菜」。
本書第十一章寫到清朝中國的「鴉片迷思︰中國白銀因鴉片外流與導致人民墮落」，作者並不否認當中存在的某些真實性，但卻認定清朝官員的「言過其實」。這方面，我自己也曾讀過類似的分析，更何況鴉片吸食之事早在清初滿人政權在領土大擴張時期早已盛行，拖到清朝末期才講成十惡不赦的外貿之罪，似乎不甚公平。作者所提的清朝中葉的「白銀荒」，是源自於國際上複雜的情勢所致（記得林滿紅的書有寫到），但清政府無力處理這種金融危機，自然也只能歸咎於最簡單的「道德論」了。
十九章提及英國二戰時期，為了養活英帝國的兵民，於是更改了食品的貿易路線，再加上殖民者的無能，最後導致 1943 年的孟加拉發生大饑荒！375 ~ 376 頁的這段話︰「在北非軍事行動中，盟軍步兵犧牲人數為三萬一千人，然而死於饑饉與營養不良的孟加拉人高達三百萬。」作者在此處批評了帝國主義的兩面性︰自認為海外殖民地帶來更文明的生活與物資利用，但遇到物資緊縮時卻完全不在乎地拋棄殖民地人民。
至於廿章裡也談到了食物的「貿易流動」與「保護自足」的問題。並提到了那位被現代人給貼上世間一切醜惡標籤的納粹領導人︰「帶著些許羨慕的眼光看待大英帝國，……德國人能在烏克蘭和俄羅斯肥沃的黑土平原上找到生存空間（Lebensraum），英國人通常會掩飾他們在占用原住民的土地時，壓迫原住民的殘忍行徑，但是希特勒在缺乏道德顧忌的分析中，卻從英美的範例中得到靈感。他讚許美國如何根除美洲原住民，並聲稱在東方將會重複類似的過程……。」這段評析，令我眼睛為之一亮。
本書比較偏向於「學術性」，所以「言必有徵」，注釋和參考書目列了五六十頁以上。
值得一讀的好書。
以前就在其它書籍中閱讀過，關於「英帝國」這個已經逝去的國際強權，他們的立國思想是「自由貿易」。因此本書作者藉由各個飲食方面的小片斷，闡述著這個逐漸成形的帝國人民生活，是多麼地受到「貿易」所帶來的便利、以及它所推動的各項發展與創新，並重新塑造了近代與現代世界的樣貌。很多各地所認為的「民族國菜」，或多或少都不能是「古以有之」的配方材料，而是受到其它地區運輸過來的物產與殖民者的影響，改造成所謂的具有地方特色的「傳統菜」。
本書第十一章寫到清朝中國的「鴉片迷思︰中國白銀因鴉片外流與導致人民墮落」，作者並不否認當中存在的某些真實性，但卻認定清朝官員的「言過其實」。這方面，我自己也曾讀過類似的分析，更何況鴉片吸食之事早在清初滿人政權在領土大擴張時期早已盛行，拖到清朝末期才講成十惡不赦的外貿之罪，似乎不甚公平。作者所提的清朝中葉的「白銀荒」，是源自於國際上複雜的情勢所致（記得林滿紅的書有寫到），但清政府無力處理這種金融危機，自然也只能歸咎於最簡單的「道德論」了。
十九章提及英國二戰時期，為了養活英帝國的兵民，於是更改了食品的貿易路線，再加上殖民者的無能，最後導致 1943 年的孟加拉發生大饑荒！375 ~ 376 頁的這段話︰「在北非軍事行動中，盟軍步兵犧牲人數為三萬一千人，然而死於饑饉與營養不良的孟加拉人高達三百萬。」作者在此處批評了帝國主義的兩面性︰自認為海外殖民地帶來更文明的生活與物資利用，但遇到物資緊縮時卻完全不在乎地拋棄殖民地人民。
至於廿章裡也談到了食物的「貿易流動」與「保護自足」的問題。並提到了那位被現代人給貼上世間一切醜惡標籤的納粹領導人︰「帶著些許羨慕的眼光看待大英帝國，……德國人能在烏克蘭和俄羅斯肥沃的黑土平原上找到生存空間（Lebensraum），英國人通常會掩飾他們在占用原住民的土地時，壓迫原住民的殘忍行徑，但是希特勒在缺乏道德顧忌的分析中，卻從英美的範例中得到靈感。他讚許美國如何根除美洲原住民，並聲稱在東方將會重複類似的過程……。」這段評析，令我眼睛為之一亮。
本書比較偏向於「學術性」，所以「言必有徵」，注釋和參考書目列了五六十頁以上。
值得一讀的好書。
August 18, 2017
From BBC Radio 4 - Book of the Week:
This culinary journey through history examines how the growing Empire allowed Britain to harness the globe's edible resources; from cod fish and salt beef to sugar, spices and opium. Historian Lizzie Collingham brings a fresh perspective to the making of the realm, uncovering its decisive role in the shaping of the modern diet and revealing how almost every meal we eat still contains a taste of empire.
Today we board the Mary Rose to discover how salt cod helped to create the British Empire.
Written by Lizzie Collingham
Read by Melody Grove
Abridged by Siân Preece
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b090wg2c
This culinary journey through history examines how the growing Empire allowed Britain to harness the globe's edible resources; from cod fish and salt beef to sugar, spices and opium. Historian Lizzie Collingham brings a fresh perspective to the making of the realm, uncovering its decisive role in the shaping of the modern diet and revealing how almost every meal we eat still contains a taste of empire.
Today we board the Mary Rose to discover how salt cod helped to create the British Empire.
Written by Lizzie Collingham
Read by Melody Grove
Abridged by Siân Preece
Producer: Eilidh McCreadie.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b090wg2c
December 27, 2020
interesting book looking at how food shaped Empire and the modern world from Newfoundland Cod to the sugar of the West Indies and the Bengali Opium to get Chinese tea. the book is quite detailed and is a must to read.
January 8, 2019
Having read an earlier book by this author (Curry), I picked this book while browsing at a bookshop. and I did not regret it at all - it appealed to multiple genres I am fond of! It is an interesting mix of food, history and travel.
It focuses on the various European assaults on the Americas, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. While these journeys are told to us as these great and successful adventures, less is said of the massive elimination of native populations and the systematic exploitation of the survivors. The author tries to recapture the type of local food habits and agricultural conditions that the early settlers found, how they adapted these to suit their palate. She discusses the economics and politics of the colonial system, how it changed habits both of the natives (who were introduced to new items, like sugar) and settlers, how it drove innovations in pickling, curing of meat, transportation and later packaging.
Asia was not unknown to Europeans since trade across land routes was well established for many millennia. But the opening of sea routes, gave fresh opportunities for conquest. These led to changes in the dynamic# of the world economy.
All of this is discussed in a very simple and engaging style with many real life stories and experiences. Altogether, a fascination account of the history of agricultural and food economics.
It focuses on the various European assaults on the Americas, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. While these journeys are told to us as these great and successful adventures, less is said of the massive elimination of native populations and the systematic exploitation of the survivors. The author tries to recapture the type of local food habits and agricultural conditions that the early settlers found, how they adapted these to suit their palate. She discusses the economics and politics of the colonial system, how it changed habits both of the natives (who were introduced to new items, like sugar) and settlers, how it drove innovations in pickling, curing of meat, transportation and later packaging.
Asia was not unknown to Europeans since trade across land routes was well established for many millennia. But the opening of sea routes, gave fresh opportunities for conquest. These led to changes in the dynamic# of the world economy.
All of this is discussed in a very simple and engaging style with many real life stories and experiences. Altogether, a fascination account of the history of agricultural and food economics.
July 10, 2023
I have to say I found this book interesting on every single page. Obviously hate Empire as much as the next enlightened millennial who has eschewed their GCSE history lessons and endeavoured to seek their own truth about Britain’s gruesome past, and this book offers a new perspective on the sordid decisions made by literally every single person involved in British politics from 1545.
Kind of obsessed with food as well so it was a double win for me. Endless conversations were born around the family dinner table from me reading this book.
Obviously not a race thru and a bit dry in parts but I found it fascinating at every turn.
Kind of obsessed with food as well so it was a double win for me. Endless conversations were born around the family dinner table from me reading this book.
Obviously not a race thru and a bit dry in parts but I found it fascinating at every turn.
September 26, 2018
A must read for anyone interested in British colonial history and it’s inextricable ties to our world’s food history.
Lizzie Conningham makes a book crammed with details and facts extremely readable.
The effects of Britain’s quest for food on its own culinary identity, and the ways in which it adversely altered many of its colonies’ indigenous agricultural systems and food consumption merits a careful read.
Lizzie Conningham makes a book crammed with details and facts extremely readable.
The effects of Britain’s quest for food on its own culinary identity, and the ways in which it adversely altered many of its colonies’ indigenous agricultural systems and food consumption merits a careful read.
December 8, 2017
This is a history of the relationship between food and the British Empire. The author presents twenty chapters, each one an essay of sorts about some part of the British Empire and of a distinctive food or drink associated with it. Why so many chapters? Well the Empire lasted for a long time and came in distinct periods (pre and post US revolution; white settler colonies vs India vs other African colonies). I do not get the sense that Professor Collingham is presenting all original research here although there may be some but I have encountered many of these events before. They are all very interesting and Collingham is a fine story teller.
The general punchline for most of these chapters is that the British Empire unified a widely diverse set of localities and that when applied to food, this implied a standardization and homogenization of what had been an array of highly localized products (curried foods, for example). Britain often gets a bad rap for its food but it is astonishing to take stock of the range of foods discussed in the book. There is the all important Cod, of course, but the reader is soon taken into discussions of Irish cuisine and even US colonial foods. A major takeaway for me was the discussion of the nutritional roles of beer, tea, and rum. I had never heard anyone reference to beer as “bread in a bottle” nor did I suspect how tea and sugar became popular as the British working classes became poorer and in need of cheap calories lacking in nutritional value. With all the current interest in craft beers, the discussion of the origins of “India Pale Ale” is also enlightening.
Some of the discussions seem to feature more academic disputes but are still interesting. For example, the discussion of the Opium Wars argues that these were not simply matters of rapacious British capitalists ravaging the Chinese Empire by forcing their dope on the population but also involved more arcane currency and political issues. OK, except that after the discussion it is not that clear about how the more complex narrative on the Opium Wars differs from the earlier narrative. Many of the chapters tell stories that are well known from histories of how global commodity markets developed, how innovations were make in transporting meat over long distances, and how world markets changed with the commercialization of steam power as a superior alternative to wind power for ships.
The value of the book is to provide really interesting stories and factoids for students and tourists. The material on Ireland, for example, is really good and would be helpful homework for someone preparing for an upcoming trip. The chapters on how the need to provision the British Navy and military helped change local food patterns is also quite good. More material on Indian cuisine would have been appreciated.
An attractive feature of the book is that the author includes a representative recipe in each chapter so that readers could sample how each chapter’s story tastes. This is an intriguing idea, although I do not think I am courageous enough to follow through and try a recipe.
Books like this make me appreciate how hard it must be to make an impact as an historian. There are several really nice volumes on the history of foods and related activities. “Consider the Fork” is a recent example of British history. The histories of Salt and Cod also come to mind. This book is a fine addition to that genre that is well written and interesting throughout.
The general punchline for most of these chapters is that the British Empire unified a widely diverse set of localities and that when applied to food, this implied a standardization and homogenization of what had been an array of highly localized products (curried foods, for example). Britain often gets a bad rap for its food but it is astonishing to take stock of the range of foods discussed in the book. There is the all important Cod, of course, but the reader is soon taken into discussions of Irish cuisine and even US colonial foods. A major takeaway for me was the discussion of the nutritional roles of beer, tea, and rum. I had never heard anyone reference to beer as “bread in a bottle” nor did I suspect how tea and sugar became popular as the British working classes became poorer and in need of cheap calories lacking in nutritional value. With all the current interest in craft beers, the discussion of the origins of “India Pale Ale” is also enlightening.
Some of the discussions seem to feature more academic disputes but are still interesting. For example, the discussion of the Opium Wars argues that these were not simply matters of rapacious British capitalists ravaging the Chinese Empire by forcing their dope on the population but also involved more arcane currency and political issues. OK, except that after the discussion it is not that clear about how the more complex narrative on the Opium Wars differs from the earlier narrative. Many of the chapters tell stories that are well known from histories of how global commodity markets developed, how innovations were make in transporting meat over long distances, and how world markets changed with the commercialization of steam power as a superior alternative to wind power for ships.
The value of the book is to provide really interesting stories and factoids for students and tourists. The material on Ireland, for example, is really good and would be helpful homework for someone preparing for an upcoming trip. The chapters on how the need to provision the British Navy and military helped change local food patterns is also quite good. More material on Indian cuisine would have been appreciated.
An attractive feature of the book is that the author includes a representative recipe in each chapter so that readers could sample how each chapter’s story tastes. This is an intriguing idea, although I do not think I am courageous enough to follow through and try a recipe.
Books like this make me appreciate how hard it must be to make an impact as an historian. There are several really nice volumes on the history of foods and related activities. “Consider the Fork” is a recent example of British history. The histories of Salt and Cod also come to mind. This book is a fine addition to that genre that is well written and interesting throughout.
June 25, 2018
This is exactly the kind of thing I really love, books like this,
Salt: A World History
and
Consider the Fork
are sweeping world food histories that give you a lot of information about the way humanity's diet has changed over time. As I was getting to the end of this book, I realized that the particular recipes for a dish and the things we eat over time change not unlike the way language changes. Hearing the history of a dish is not that different from hearing the etymology of a word - and i really like learning etymologies.
This book contains a lot of these "dish etymologies" fit into the grander narrative of the British empire. I suspect that even without the colonial aspects the story wouldn't be terribly difficult because it's really the story of the globalization that's been happening since the 16th and 17th centuries (driven in large part by colonization, true) and how it's affected the diets of those in the former British empire. Needless to say it's more than just explaining the fact that the British eat a lot of curries.
This book contains a lot of these "dish etymologies" fit into the grander narrative of the British empire. I suspect that even without the colonial aspects the story wouldn't be terribly difficult because it's really the story of the globalization that's been happening since the 16th and 17th centuries (driven in large part by colonization, true) and how it's affected the diets of those in the former British empire. Needless to say it's more than just explaining the fact that the British eat a lot of curries.
October 6, 2017
This is an excellent book which I thoroughly enjoyed. It's a gripping read and I learned a great deal about the history of the British Empire. The author traces the importance of food in the creation and maintenance of the empire, describing the ways in which the trade in food established patterns of power, how foods were taken from their native environments and introduced into different countries and the economic and social effects of this. I was particularly fascinated by the way that the need to transport foodstuffs around the world led to the development of food storage technologies and parallel industries.
The structure of book is very clever: each chapter begins with a meal being eaten and the individual stories bring the history to life in a very engaging way. The book is clearly well researched and well referenced but the author wears her considerable learning lightly. Highly recommended.
The structure of book is very clever: each chapter begins with a meal being eaten and the individual stories bring the history to life in a very engaging way. The book is clearly well researched and well referenced but the author wears her considerable learning lightly. Highly recommended.
December 21, 2017
Fascinating exploration of the British Empire and its global trade in food and how that trade still affects what and how we eat. From the Newfoundland fisheries of the 16th century to Bridget Jones in the 20th, what we eat and where it comes from has been affected by the often complex trade links that we rarely pay attention to. This book does, and thus opens up a whole new way of looking at the Empire and its legacy. With many illustrations and some recipes, this book is not only a joy to read but also an important work of social history.
December 22, 2017
Chock full of interesting food things I didn't know.
December 24, 2019
Fascinating journey charting the British Empire's foodprint.
August 30, 2022
Stunning and frequently devastating. Listen, capitalism was never inevitable and the modern world is a complete fabrication ok???
April 25, 2020
“To trace the history of the ‘national’ foods of former British colonies is to create a map of the web of connections the British Empire wove around the globe.”
“Do you not know where imperialism is to be found?... Just look at your plate!” - Thomas Sankara
The British Empire was definitely not an exercise in evangelicalism. Neither was it wholeheartedly expansionist. Nor was it a civilising mission. It was, first and foremost, the result of an island nation’s insatiable greed that led its people to conquer lands abroad which would eventually cover a quarter of the world’s land mass.
Of course, it didn’t begin as cynically as described above. According the Collingham, the First British Empire (before its loss of the American colonies) began in the sixteenth century with the advent of cod farming in Newfoundland.
Driven by the quest for more land which would bring about wealth that couldn’t be found back home, more and more British citizens, from poor labourers forced out of their plots to enterprising businessmen, flocked to the New World in an unprecedented mass emigration.
Interestingly, Collingham tells the tale of empire through the rapacious procurement of exotic food items to feed a burgeoning urban population back at home. From West Indian sugar to Chinese tea, Argentinian beef to African maize, food imports were critical to the web of commercial trade that held the Empire together. And it also behaved as positive feedback loop — with the industrialising of the British isles, the British became more and more dependent on its empire for food, and this greatly accelerated the expansion of the empire. It also contributed to British reluctance to give its empire up, even after the Second World War. This should be unsurprising for a people who had grown so reliant on the wealth of other nations for its own prosperity.
Could it be said that food was the fuel of the Industrial Revolution and the British Empire? After all, the “dark satanic mills” vividly described by William Blake were probably inspired by a food-processing factory — the first steam-powered flour mill in Britain equipped with machinery designed by Matthew Boulton and James Watt.
Some other interesting dimensions that Conningham brought to the discussion of the British Empire were the 1) opium myth and 2) famines.
Perhaps this does not apply to everyone but the way the opium wars are taught in Singapore seems to suggest that the British state-sanctioned smuggling of opium into Qing China somehow coincided with China’s decline, possibly contributing to it as vast segments of the population fell prey to the drug. However, opium is not as evil as it is made out to be. Just like smokers of tobacco and cigarettes, opium smokers were functional members of society. Additionally, opium provided a much-needed break from laborious agricultural work; even before the British came into the picture, opium was already being smuggled in sizeable quantities into China. Lastly, opium has hunger-suppressing capabilities. Pictures of malnourished opium smokers turned out to convey the wrong message; rather than being the cause of their lethargy and weakness, opium was a cure of sorts for those in famine-stricken areas. However, Collingham does state, definitively, that the British did exploit opium cultivators, drain substantial amounts of money out of India, and ruthlessly imposed their trading system on China for self-interested commercial gains.
As for the issue of famines, the British dependence on its empire for food meant that in times of immense need for food, such as during the world wars, British citizens were prioritised, followed by British settlers, then British subjects. This invariably resulted in unjust distribution of food, often away from the food producers themselves to the metropolis (re: Bengal famine in 1943). Such an arrangement was brought to light especially during the Second World War, and it undoubtedly contributed to the empire-wide agitation for independence postbellum.
This was certainly a quick and digestible read on my part though I felt the recipes were a little inappropriate (especially when discussing slavery and famines) and I wish there could have been a conclusion to wrap things up. That would have been the icing on the cake, the cherry on top.
“Do you not know where imperialism is to be found?... Just look at your plate!” - Thomas Sankara
The British Empire was definitely not an exercise in evangelicalism. Neither was it wholeheartedly expansionist. Nor was it a civilising mission. It was, first and foremost, the result of an island nation’s insatiable greed that led its people to conquer lands abroad which would eventually cover a quarter of the world’s land mass.
Of course, it didn’t begin as cynically as described above. According the Collingham, the First British Empire (before its loss of the American colonies) began in the sixteenth century with the advent of cod farming in Newfoundland.
Driven by the quest for more land which would bring about wealth that couldn’t be found back home, more and more British citizens, from poor labourers forced out of their plots to enterprising businessmen, flocked to the New World in an unprecedented mass emigration.
Interestingly, Collingham tells the tale of empire through the rapacious procurement of exotic food items to feed a burgeoning urban population back at home. From West Indian sugar to Chinese tea, Argentinian beef to African maize, food imports were critical to the web of commercial trade that held the Empire together. And it also behaved as positive feedback loop — with the industrialising of the British isles, the British became more and more dependent on its empire for food, and this greatly accelerated the expansion of the empire. It also contributed to British reluctance to give its empire up, even after the Second World War. This should be unsurprising for a people who had grown so reliant on the wealth of other nations for its own prosperity.
Could it be said that food was the fuel of the Industrial Revolution and the British Empire? After all, the “dark satanic mills” vividly described by William Blake were probably inspired by a food-processing factory — the first steam-powered flour mill in Britain equipped with machinery designed by Matthew Boulton and James Watt.
Some other interesting dimensions that Conningham brought to the discussion of the British Empire were the 1) opium myth and 2) famines.
Perhaps this does not apply to everyone but the way the opium wars are taught in Singapore seems to suggest that the British state-sanctioned smuggling of opium into Qing China somehow coincided with China’s decline, possibly contributing to it as vast segments of the population fell prey to the drug. However, opium is not as evil as it is made out to be. Just like smokers of tobacco and cigarettes, opium smokers were functional members of society. Additionally, opium provided a much-needed break from laborious agricultural work; even before the British came into the picture, opium was already being smuggled in sizeable quantities into China. Lastly, opium has hunger-suppressing capabilities. Pictures of malnourished opium smokers turned out to convey the wrong message; rather than being the cause of their lethargy and weakness, opium was a cure of sorts for those in famine-stricken areas. However, Collingham does state, definitively, that the British did exploit opium cultivators, drain substantial amounts of money out of India, and ruthlessly imposed their trading system on China for self-interested commercial gains.
As for the issue of famines, the British dependence on its empire for food meant that in times of immense need for food, such as during the world wars, British citizens were prioritised, followed by British settlers, then British subjects. This invariably resulted in unjust distribution of food, often away from the food producers themselves to the metropolis (re: Bengal famine in 1943). Such an arrangement was brought to light especially during the Second World War, and it undoubtedly contributed to the empire-wide agitation for independence postbellum.
This was certainly a quick and digestible read on my part though I felt the recipes were a little inappropriate (especially when discussing slavery and famines) and I wish there could have been a conclusion to wrap things up. That would have been the icing on the cake, the cherry on top.
November 21, 2021
This book was so fascinating! The author managed to span about 400 years of history across the whole globe in a supremely digestible format. It starkly illustrated the way in which England exploited and pillaged countries around the world in pursuit of its own economic interests. The staggering arrogance of the English who believed their model of agriculture is the only correct way and in the process managed to decimate climate appropriate crops and farming methods from Ireland to Australia and everywhere in between is on full display. This book clearly demonstrates the incredible damage the English have inflicted on the world - slavery, dispossession, genocide, the famines colonialism caused that have killed millions, chronic malnutrition due to the imposition of particular diets, and the deliberate structuring of colonial economies to be primary producers that are subject to the whims of weather and market prices - it’s all touched on in this book and whilst every chapter is easily worthy of a book in its own right, I think the way the author wove the web of empire by connecting a series of brief chapters was what made this book so enjoyable. 10/10 would read again - a friend loaned this to me and I’m going to go buy my own copy because I know I’m going to want to go back and refer to it again
March 1, 2018
So much information about the impact of foods from various parts of the world coming to be part of Britain's common experience, creating economic and social bonds between widely separated countries. Some were already familiar, but many were a surprise and illustrated how centuries of trading has created the world we now live in. A thoroughly researched and footnoted study.
January 18, 2021
So interesting. Essential reading for anyone who thinks the key to Brexit shortages is "just growing our own". Essential reading for anyone who thinks colonisation was of benefit to the colonies rather than purely exploitative.
August 6, 2024
A great economic history of the Atlantic World from the 16th to 20th centuries that also reveals a relatively unspoken motive behind the advancements of the colonial empires during the Age of Discovery. Whatever Carly says below this is irrelevant.
January 3, 2019
2 1/2 rounded up as there were many very interesting threads and historical facts. The format I found very difficult, and had to skim a fair bit.
December 16, 2024
A really interesting book that highlights Great Britain’s role in food systems, although a bit too colonizer-apologist for my liking.
February 27, 2021
Amazing. Demystifies much of the Imperial journey in terms of food and trade. Lizzie helps paint the picture of times when global trade wasn't common and new travel routes had to be discovered just to get some fish.
August 24, 2021
Apart from introducing new political, administrative and commercial frameworks in its colonies, the British Empire had been instrumental in radically altering what is on the dining plates of the people over which it ruled. Beginning from fish processing in Newfoundland, it introduced cotton, tobacco and sugar in the slave colonies, obtained tea from China and then spread the habit of afternoon tea in the whole of its domain. Before the advent of the Industrial Revolution, the empire treated its colonies as sources of food rather than raw materials for its nascent industries. As in any item of trade, a monopoly can be sustained only by surpassing the rivals which meant suppressing them in those times. Lizzie Collingham is a historian ‘interested in linking the minutiae of daily life to the broad sweep of historical processes’. Her book ‘Curry – A Tale of Cooks and Conquerors’ was reviewed earlier. This book tells the tale of how the British shaped modernity by their relentless effort to source food from across the world for consumption as well as trade. Each chapter tells a different story, and opens with a particular meal and then explores the history that made them possible.
The British were rather late in the rush to the West across the Atlantic in search of spices, which was led by Spain and Portugal. Henry VIII’s break with the Pope, which added a religious angle to the already existing geographical separation, convinced the British to start their own explorations. Fishermen from West Country acquired knowledge of Atlantic currents by their mastery over Newfoundland cod fishing. This helped the explorers who went in search of a sea route to the Spice Islands. In a sense, the fishermen who mastered food-processing techniques laid down the foundations of empire. The expanding merchant marine used the competent fishermen to man its ships. The salted cod found willing customers all across the Atlantic rim, till they took to better food crops. Between 1570 and 1689, the tonnage of English shipping grew seven-fold and England emerged as a major European power.
Production of food and other cash crops were invariably linked to slavery for almost four centuries from the discovery of the New World. This book explains the movement of men and materiel to and from the Americas and Africa. When the indigenous Americans proved unwilling to toil in the tobacco, cotton and sugar plantations, Black Africans were forced to occupy that place. Collingham suggests that the farms at first used white labour force in the same appalling conditions as the Blacks did later. Many slaves perished in the sugar plantations that it was said that what you get by adding sugar to water was the slaves’ blood. Emancipation came with Enlightenment, but the living conditions hardly improved. As the Blacks opted not to work in farms after they were liberated, the British ushered in indentured labour as a substitute. Indians ground down by poverty accepted a paltry sum and worked for the British, almost like slaves.
Medieval trade worked best in a barter system between countries. As the ships are to be laden both ways, trade had had to be a give-and-take proposition. When the balance tilted in favour of one party, the other has to rebalance with gold or silver, which would cause erosion of resources in that country. This state of affairs is a prescription for instability and violence. The British desperately wanted tea from China, but the Chinese didn’t take anything in return, ensuring continuous outflow of British silver. To stem this tide, they found opium to be marketable clandestinely in large quantities in China. They grew opium in north India and an elaborate cycle was perfected. The English East India Company advanced loans to farmers to grow poppies. The produce was collected at fixed prices, irrespective of the demand. This was then auctioned at Calcutta for up to four times the price paid to farmers. The opium was then transported to Canton in private ships and sold there for equal weight in silver. This Chinese silver was collected by merchants and paid into the company’s treasury at Canton in return for bills of exchange. The company purchased tea with this bullion in its treasury and auctioned it at London. The proceeds were used to redeem the instruments of exchange held by retail traders. Thus most of the Chinese silver remained in the country. From late-eighteenth century, opium revenues were the third most important source of income for the company after land revenue and salt tax.
The Chinese are indignant at being forced to consume opium by the British. When the emperor ordered a ban on its trade, the British went to war with China and made it obligatory for the defeated Chinese to keep the existing trade routes open and allow more ports in which the Europeans could trade. This is often depicted as a cruel act by a colonial power on a helpless Oriental country. Collingham snaps this bubble by offering an alternate narrative that terms the Chinese position as an ‘opium myth’. The Chinese state is often presented as powerless against the superior forces of an imperialist drug cartel. This was supposed to have drained silver out of the economy while turning the Chinese into a nation of addicts who smoked themselves to death. However, a number of scholars argue that opium’s reputation as a demon drug is just hyperbole. Opium inhalation was probably one of the least physically damaging ways of taking any of the recreational drugs at that time. Besides, China was not drained of silver as the company had used it to purchase tea, porcelain and silk.
The British made lasting impressions on the people they ruled. In India, their political, legal, educational and commercial frameworks are still in use. But India steadfastly refused to adopt British food on their dining tables. In fact, it was the other way round, with the adaptation of Indian curry to suit British tastes. The author has not examined this aspect of the colonial interchange. On the other hand, the cases of many colonial societies integrating colonial food for own use is mentioned. The Kikuyu in Kenya traditionally used millets and sorghum for their principal dish ‘Irio’. As maize from Americas became widely available and began to be cultivated in Africa, they replaced millets with maize in Irio.
A book on food would also be the ideal platform to highlight the lack of it. The author has made a neat review of the man-made Bengal famine of 1943 and some other famines that ravaged British India. A touching picture of a group of highly emaciated survivors of the Madras Famine of 1876 exposes the gravity of the problem. The Bengal famine was caused by a mix of poor harvest, wartime measures that hampered the movement of rice and the government’s incompetence when they fixed rice prices too low. This channeled the supplies to the black market. At the same time, buildup of US troops had been going on in England for the invasion of the continent then reeling under Hitler’s yoke. Britain needed more ships for provisioning them and consequently, the number of ships sailing to Indian Ocean was cut by half. Famine raged in Bengal and around three million people died in miserable circumstances. When the villagers could no longer find the strength to walk to the community kitchen, they simply lay down on the cold ground and died. Hard-hearted Churchill still maintained that the colonies should feel the pinch in the same way as the Mother Country did. But such lofty rhetoric did not prevent the British from airlifting supplies to the Netherlands when starvation was reported. Lord Wavell himself expressed resentment at this discrimination.
The book displays a marked change from the common practice of British authors to don the mantle of regret and empathy from head to toe when discussing colonial matters. Collingham does nothing of the sort and evaluates the possibilities objectively. Chinese claims of victimhood on imposition of opium on the country by war are reexamined in the light of recent research which shows that China’s plight of economic distress was caused as much, if not more, by domestic policies and politics than foreign aggression. The book includes recipes for the principal item discussed in each chapter. Recipes of things which had long gone out of common use are interesting to aficionados.
The British were rather late in the rush to the West across the Atlantic in search of spices, which was led by Spain and Portugal. Henry VIII’s break with the Pope, which added a religious angle to the already existing geographical separation, convinced the British to start their own explorations. Fishermen from West Country acquired knowledge of Atlantic currents by their mastery over Newfoundland cod fishing. This helped the explorers who went in search of a sea route to the Spice Islands. In a sense, the fishermen who mastered food-processing techniques laid down the foundations of empire. The expanding merchant marine used the competent fishermen to man its ships. The salted cod found willing customers all across the Atlantic rim, till they took to better food crops. Between 1570 and 1689, the tonnage of English shipping grew seven-fold and England emerged as a major European power.
Production of food and other cash crops were invariably linked to slavery for almost four centuries from the discovery of the New World. This book explains the movement of men and materiel to and from the Americas and Africa. When the indigenous Americans proved unwilling to toil in the tobacco, cotton and sugar plantations, Black Africans were forced to occupy that place. Collingham suggests that the farms at first used white labour force in the same appalling conditions as the Blacks did later. Many slaves perished in the sugar plantations that it was said that what you get by adding sugar to water was the slaves’ blood. Emancipation came with Enlightenment, but the living conditions hardly improved. As the Blacks opted not to work in farms after they were liberated, the British ushered in indentured labour as a substitute. Indians ground down by poverty accepted a paltry sum and worked for the British, almost like slaves.
Medieval trade worked best in a barter system between countries. As the ships are to be laden both ways, trade had had to be a give-and-take proposition. When the balance tilted in favour of one party, the other has to rebalance with gold or silver, which would cause erosion of resources in that country. This state of affairs is a prescription for instability and violence. The British desperately wanted tea from China, but the Chinese didn’t take anything in return, ensuring continuous outflow of British silver. To stem this tide, they found opium to be marketable clandestinely in large quantities in China. They grew opium in north India and an elaborate cycle was perfected. The English East India Company advanced loans to farmers to grow poppies. The produce was collected at fixed prices, irrespective of the demand. This was then auctioned at Calcutta for up to four times the price paid to farmers. The opium was then transported to Canton in private ships and sold there for equal weight in silver. This Chinese silver was collected by merchants and paid into the company’s treasury at Canton in return for bills of exchange. The company purchased tea with this bullion in its treasury and auctioned it at London. The proceeds were used to redeem the instruments of exchange held by retail traders. Thus most of the Chinese silver remained in the country. From late-eighteenth century, opium revenues were the third most important source of income for the company after land revenue and salt tax.
The Chinese are indignant at being forced to consume opium by the British. When the emperor ordered a ban on its trade, the British went to war with China and made it obligatory for the defeated Chinese to keep the existing trade routes open and allow more ports in which the Europeans could trade. This is often depicted as a cruel act by a colonial power on a helpless Oriental country. Collingham snaps this bubble by offering an alternate narrative that terms the Chinese position as an ‘opium myth’. The Chinese state is often presented as powerless against the superior forces of an imperialist drug cartel. This was supposed to have drained silver out of the economy while turning the Chinese into a nation of addicts who smoked themselves to death. However, a number of scholars argue that opium’s reputation as a demon drug is just hyperbole. Opium inhalation was probably one of the least physically damaging ways of taking any of the recreational drugs at that time. Besides, China was not drained of silver as the company had used it to purchase tea, porcelain and silk.
The British made lasting impressions on the people they ruled. In India, their political, legal, educational and commercial frameworks are still in use. But India steadfastly refused to adopt British food on their dining tables. In fact, it was the other way round, with the adaptation of Indian curry to suit British tastes. The author has not examined this aspect of the colonial interchange. On the other hand, the cases of many colonial societies integrating colonial food for own use is mentioned. The Kikuyu in Kenya traditionally used millets and sorghum for their principal dish ‘Irio’. As maize from Americas became widely available and began to be cultivated in Africa, they replaced millets with maize in Irio.
A book on food would also be the ideal platform to highlight the lack of it. The author has made a neat review of the man-made Bengal famine of 1943 and some other famines that ravaged British India. A touching picture of a group of highly emaciated survivors of the Madras Famine of 1876 exposes the gravity of the problem. The Bengal famine was caused by a mix of poor harvest, wartime measures that hampered the movement of rice and the government’s incompetence when they fixed rice prices too low. This channeled the supplies to the black market. At the same time, buildup of US troops had been going on in England for the invasion of the continent then reeling under Hitler’s yoke. Britain needed more ships for provisioning them and consequently, the number of ships sailing to Indian Ocean was cut by half. Famine raged in Bengal and around three million people died in miserable circumstances. When the villagers could no longer find the strength to walk to the community kitchen, they simply lay down on the cold ground and died. Hard-hearted Churchill still maintained that the colonies should feel the pinch in the same way as the Mother Country did. But such lofty rhetoric did not prevent the British from airlifting supplies to the Netherlands when starvation was reported. Lord Wavell himself expressed resentment at this discrimination.
The book displays a marked change from the common practice of British authors to don the mantle of regret and empathy from head to toe when discussing colonial matters. Collingham does nothing of the sort and evaluates the possibilities objectively. Chinese claims of victimhood on imposition of opium on the country by war are reexamined in the light of recent research which shows that China’s plight of economic distress was caused as much, if not more, by domestic policies and politics than foreign aggression. The book includes recipes for the principal item discussed in each chapter. Recipes of things which had long gone out of common use are interesting to aficionados.
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