1500 1800 facts
While investigating facts about 1500 1800, I found out little known, but curios details like:
From the 1500’s - 1800’s tomatoes were usually only consumed by the poor because they were considered poisonous to the rich. The high lead content of pewter silverware and plates would leech into high acidic foods when eaten causing poisoning and death.
Baked beans started with a bean native to the Americas exported to France/Italy in the 1500's, were brought back to America with European colonization, then exported to the UK as an "American delicacy" in the late 1800's, and are now reimported to the US as "UK Baked Beans"
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 4 of the best facts about 1500 1800 I managed to collect.
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Scurvy killed at least two million sailors between 1500 and 1800. In 1499, Vasco da Gama lost 116 of his crew of 170. In 1520, Magellan lost 208 out of 230 ...all mainly to scurvy.
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Roughly 1/3rd of the silver mined in America between 1500 and 1800 wound up in China. The Chinese economy had such a demand for silver that Europeans traders eventually switched to opium to pay for their goods, partly precipitating the Opium wars of the 18th century.
