Plants that grew history

Like Edison who lit up the world with the bulb he invented. However, it is not Man alone who is capable of this feat; plants too have done much the same thing. They have brought about changes that are significant as well as far-reaching. Foremost among them are cotton, sugar and tobacco. Great fortunes were built around them, bitter wars fought over them and habits of life formed from them. Interestingly, all of them have close connections with India: cotton and sugar-cane were first grown in India, while tobacco was discovered by American Indians.

The first people to grow cotton were the Harappans of the Indus Valley who lived around 2000 B.C. So impressed at its sight was the visiting historian, Herodotus, that he wrote, ‘Here are trees growing wild and producing wool better than sheep’s wool in beauty and quality’.

During the Gupta period in 200 A.D. Indians were selling cotton as a luxury item. More expensive than silk, it was bought by the Parthians in the West and the Chinese in the East. In 1200 A.D. the Mongol emperor encouraged the growing of cotton. It was only in 1400 that the Italians began producing cotton and in America, it was first planted in 1607. Slaves from Africa were brought in to work on the huge plantations. This pushed the production up so much that there was a dramatic fall in its price. This, coupled with the Industrial Revolution, made cotton the cheapest fabric in history. The American Civil War of 1861-1865 was fought because the Southern States wanted to continue keeping slaves. Thousands died in the war. Slavery was later abolished, but cotton has remained a popular fabric. In fact, as far back as the 9th Century, our country was producing the finest of cotton fabrics. The Arabian traveller, Suleiman, notes that the cloth made in Bengal was so fine and delicate that it could be passed through a signet ring! Nor can anything match cotton for comfort. The Apollo astronauts who went off into space with layers of Teflon-coated yarn took care to wear a ‘comfort layer’ of cotton next to the skin.
Say ‘sugar and spice’ and what comes to mind is India. Sugar was grown here thousands of years ago. A report by an officer who accompanied Alexander the Great to India in the 4th Century B.C. describes sugar-cane as ‘a reed which yields honey without bees’. Even today it is the source for the largest portion of the world’s supply of sugar. It was gradually introduced into Western Asia, North Africa and then Europe.

In 1493, Christopher Columbus took a sugar plant with him to the West Indies. It was given to him by his mother-in-law, who had a plantation in the Madeira and thought it would grow well in the New World. It flourished and became responsible for the transportation of slaves. Thousands were brought from Africa, chained and huddled together. They were put to work on the plantations. So much money was made that sugar was known as ‘white gold’.

By the 16th Century many had become sugar addicts. Elizabeth I, it is said, lost all her teeth because she ate so much of it! If adults love it, can children be far behind? During the 17th Century, craftsmen created white sticks of candy in the shape of the shepherd’s crook. It was ordered by the choirmaster of the Cologne Cathedral in Germany to keep the children quiet during the enaction of the Christmas nativity scene. It became a favourite of children the world over and when a machine was invented in the 1950’s to speed up its production, its popularity soared. Besides discovering America in 1492, Columbus also discovered tobacco. The American Indians had been puffing on it for at least 500 years. Spain became the first country to take to tobacco.

It soon spread to France and then it was turn of the English. When Sir Walter Raleigh journeyed to the New World, he brought tobacco back with him and introduced his countrymen to its pleasures.

Sometime after, he was enjoying his pipe, when a loyal servant emptied a pot of water over his head. He believed that his master was on fire! Sadly in 1618, Raleigh was executed for treason. His last wish? A pipe of tobacco! 

Until the late 18th Century doctors prescribed smoking as a cure for everything from bad breath to lockjaw! Tobacco too was grown on plantations with the help of slaves.

Soon huge factories were producing cigarettes and chain-smoking became widespread.
By the middle of the 20th Century, both men and women were dying of lung cancer in large numbers. Smoking in public is now banned in many countries and packets of cigarettes carry warnings of ill effects.

However, habits die hard and the cultivation and use of tobacco continues unabated.
Plants contain the seeds of change in more ways than one. It is entirely up to us to use them or abuse them! Now here is a quiz that will help you get more fun facts about plants.

1.  Which is the largest plant in the world?
2. Which is the largest flower in the world?
3. Name the smallest plant and smallest flower in the world.
4. Can you name the fastest growing plant?

Answers:

1. The Giant Sequoia or the Red Wood.
2. Rafflesia Amoldi found in the rain forests of Indonesia. It can have a diameter of one metre.
3.The smallest plant is a specimen of water-meal called Wolffia Globosa. The flowers are hard to see and a dozen of them could fit on the head of a pin. It also produces the world’s smallest fruit called a Utricle.
4. Bamboos are some of the fastest growing plants. They are capable of growing 100 cm (39”) or more a day.