Vegetative States: Potatoes, Affordances, and Survival Ecologies

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The potato has been critical to plant–human assemblages both in South America and in Europe. A study of the capacities, or affordances of this plant within diverse political economies highlights its mutability in some circumstances and vulnerability in others. The contrasts are stark. In South America, peasant agriculture took the potato across a large and diverse ecumene allowing its elaboration into many varieties and sustaining extensive state systems that taxed its production. Spanish colonialism repurposed the plant as the calorific basis for concentrations of coerced labour at silver mines. Back in Europe it was initially the resistance of the potato to state violence that encouraged peasants to turn over their fields to a tuberous plant that “concealed” its food underground. But its calorific productivity per acre again saw it repurposed as peasants were converted to proletarians, allowed to subsist on only the smallest plots while working for landlords on larger estates.
Tá an práta tar éis a bheith riachtanach i gcluichreáin daonna is planda i Meiriceá Theas agus san Eoraip. Tarraingíonn staidéar ar achmhainní agus dus an phlanda seo, in eacnamaíochtaí polaitiúla éagsúla, áird ar inathraitheacht an phráta i gcásanna áirithe agus ar a soghontacht i gcásanna eile. Is géar an chodarsnacht idir an dá chás. I Meiriceá Theas, scaip talamhaíocht tuathánach an práta thar ecumene fairsing ilghnéitheach agus d’fhás an iomaí saghasanna éagsúla práta dá réir, comh maith le córas stáit fairsing a ghearr cáin ar a shaothrú. Thug an coileánachas Spáinneach úsáid úr don phlanda mar bhia chalrach d’oibrithe comhéignithe ’sna mianaigh airgid. San Eoraip thug an práta deis do lucht na tuaithe cur in aghaidh foréigean an stáit mar go raibh maitheas an phlanda i bhfolach faoi thalamh. Ach de bharr fiúntais chalrach in aghaidh an acra an phlanda, cuireadh chun úsáid nua arís é agus lucht tuaithe tiontaithe ina prólaitáireacht nach raibh cead acu ach beart talún bídeach agus iad ag obair ar thailte móra an tiarna talún.