History through the eyes of the potato - Leo Bear-McGuinness

Prevodilac: Milenka Okuka Lektor: Mile Živković

Baked or fried,

Pečen ili pržen,

boiled or roasted,

kuvan ili grilovan,

as chips or fries.

kao čips ili pomfrit.

At some point in your life, you've probably eaten a potato.

U nekom momentu u vašem životu verovatno ste jeli krompir.

Delicious, for sure,

Ukusan je, svakako,

but the fact is potatoes have played a much more significant role in our history

ali činjenica je da je krompir odigarao daleko značajniju ulogu u našoj istoriji

than just that of the dietary staple we have come to know and love today.

od uloge puke prehrambene namirnice koju poznajemo i volimo danas.

Without the potato,

Bez krompira,

our modern civilization might not exist at all.

naša savremena civilizacija možda uopšte ne bi postojala.

8,000 years ago in South America, high atop the Andes,

Pre 8000 godina u Južnoj Americi, visoko na vrhu Anda,

ancient Peruvians were the first to cultivate the potato.

drevni Peruanci su prvi uzgajali krompir.

Containing high levels of proteins and carbohydrates,

Kako je sadržao visoke vrednosti proteina i ugljenih hidrata,

as well as essential fats, vitamins and minerals,

kao i esencijalne masti, vitamine i minerale,

potatoes were the perfect food source to fuel a large Incan working class

krompir je bio savršen izvor hrane za snabdevanje ogromne radničke klase Inka

as they built and farmed their terraced fields,

dok su gradili i obrađivali svoja terasasta polja,

mined the Rocky Mountains,

kopali u Stenovitim planinama

and created the sophisticated civilization of the great Incan Empire.

i stvarali prefinjenu civilizaciju Velikog carstva Inka.

But considering how vital they were to the Incan people,

No, imajući u vidu koliko je značajan bio za narod Inka,

when Spanish sailors returning from the Andes

kada su španski moreplovci, vraćajući se s Anda

first brought potatoes to Europe,

prvi put doneli krompir u Evropu,

the spuds were duds.

krtola se izjalovila.

Europeans simply didn't want to eat

Evropljani prosto nisu želeli da jedu

what they considered dull and tasteless oddities from a strange new land,

nešto što su smatrali tupom i bezukusnom nastranošću iz stranog sveta,

too closely related to the deadly nightshade plant belladonna for comfort.

isuviše srodno otrovnom velebilju, ludoj travi, da bi prijalo.

So instead of consuming them,

Pa su umesto konzumiranja,

they used potatoes as decorative garden plants.

koristili krompir kao ukrasno baštensko bilje.

More than 200 years would pass before the potato caught on

Proći će preko 200 godina pre nego što će krompir da se primi

as a major food source throughout Europe,

kao glavni izvor hrane širom Evrope,

though even then,

iako su ga i tada

it was predominantly eaten by the lower classes.

mahom jeli ljudi iz nižih klasa.

However, beginning around 1750,

Međutim, od oko 1750,

and thanks at least in part

i bar delimično zahvaljujući

to the wide availability of inexpensive and nutritious potatoes,

širokoj dostupnosti jeftinog i hranljivog krompira,

European peasants with greater food security

evropski seljaci koji su imali obezbeđen izvor hrane,

no longer found themselves

više nisu bili prepušteni na milost

at the mercy of the regularly occurring grain famines of the time,

redovnim pojavama tog doba, gladi zbog nestašice žitarica,

and so their populations steadily grew.

i stoga je njihov broj ravnomerno rastao.

As a result, the British, Dutch and German Empires

Kao posledica toga Britansko, Holandsko i Nemačko carstvo

rose on the backs of the growing groups of farmers, laborers, and soldiers,

će na leđima da podignu rastuće grupe zemljoradnika, radnika i vojnika,

thus lifting the West to its place of world dominion.

time podižući Zapad na mesto svetske dominacije.

However, not all European countries sprouted empires.

Međutim, nisu sve evropske države izrasle u carstva.

After the Irish adopted the potato,

Nakon što su Irci prihvatili krompir,

their population dramatically increased,

njihova populacija se dramatično uvećala,

as did their dependence on the tuber as a major food staple.

kao i njihova zavisnost o krtoli kao glavnom izvoru hrane.

But then disaster struck.

No, desila se katastrofa.

From 1845 to 1852,

Od 1845. do 1852,

potato blight disease ravaged the majority of Ireland's potato crop,

bolest krompirove buđi je opustošila većinu zasada krompira u Irskoj,

leading to the Irish Potato Famine,

dovodeći do Krompirove gladi u Irskoj,

one of the deadliest famines in world history.

jedne od najsmrtonosnijih gladi u svetskoj istoriji.

Over a million Irish citizens starved to death,

Preko milion Iraca je umrlo od gladi,

and 2 million more left their homes behind.

a još dva miliona je napustilo svoje domove.

But of course, this wasn't the end for the potato.

Ali, naravno, ovo nije bio kraj za krompir.

The crop eventually recovered,

Zasad se na kraju oporavio

and Europe's population, especially the working classes,

i evropska populacija, naročito radničke klase

continued to increase.

su nastavile da se uvećavaju.

Aided by the influx of Irish migrants,

Potpomognuta prilivom irskih migranata,

Europe now had a large, sustainable, and well-fed population

Evropa je tada imala veliku, održivu, dobro uhranjenu populaciju

who were capable of manning the emerging factories

koja je bila u stanju da rukovodi fabrikama u nastajanju

that would bring about our modern world via the Industrial Revolution.

koje će da iznedre naš savremeni svet putem Industrijske revolucije.

So it's almost impossible to imagine a world without the potato.

Dakle, skoro da je nemoguće zamisliti svet bez krompira.

Would the Industrial Revolution ever have happened?

Da li bi se Industrijska revolucija ikad desila?

Would World War II have been lost by the Allies

Da li bi Saveznici izgubili Drugi svetski rat

without this easy-to-grow crop that fed the Allied troops?

bez ovog zasada lakog za uzgajanje koji je hranio savezničke trupe?

Would it even have started?

Da li bi uopšte počeo?

When you think about it like this,

Kada razišljate o tome ovako,

many major milestones in world history can all be at least partially attributed

većina važnijih prekretnica u svetskoj istoriji

bi bar delimično mogla da se pripiše

to the simple spud from the Peruvian hilltops.

prostoj krtoli s peruanskih vrhova planina.