When it comes to seeds, no one will feel strange.
From the ancients domesticating rice, wheat, corn and other crops to solve the problem of food and clothing, to the later gradual improvement of seeds, the economic, medicinal and ornamental value of various types of plants, in the long river of human civilization, seeds and related germplasm resources (refers to carriers carrying biological genetic information and have actual or potential use value) as a life code, not only become the basis of human survival, but also provide unparalleled important force in the process of historical development.
Among them, there are also some special seeds and germplasm resources, because of their extremely high value, although they are closely protected by the local government, they are repeatedly coveted by external forces. After some "adventure", each completes a journey of expansion and changes the human world.
Chinese Tea Tree "Going Abroad"
China is the origin of the world's tea, and for thousands of years, Chinese tea has monopolized the world tea market, and has also become an important "foreign exchange-earning tool" for successive imperial courts. In particular, after the Qing government abolished the ban on the sea in 1684, China's overseas tea trade became more and more frequent, and thus formed a huge trade surplus with the corresponding trading countries.
In the 17th century, the upper class society in Britain, France and other European countries set off an enduring trend of tea drinking
At that time, the Qing government had deeply understood the economic value of tea, not only strictly prohibiting the taking of tea seeds and seedlings out of the country, but also stipulating that smuggling tea plants and tea seeds could be punished by death.
Chinese may be watching my requests for tea seeds or trees with a strong sense of vigilance.
- Ah Liguo (former British Consul in Shanghai)
In order to reverse the trade deficit and solve the tea supply, the British began to smuggle opium in exchange for tea, and also made up their minds to obtain tea seeds from China and build tea gardens in India.
Scientific illustrations of tea plants in the 19th century
They sent Robert Fuqiong, a "plant hunter" with botanical knowledge, to China to secretly steal tea trees and tea varieties in the name of investigating Chinese plant varieties, and to collect tea experts.
Another important task of Fu Qiong's trip to China was to understand the mysterious tea-making process in the eyes of Westerners
After a journey through Wuyishan, Huizhou, Zhejiang, Shanghai and other places, Fuqiong "successfully completed the task". He wrapped the roots of the tea seedlings in moist moss, then wrapped them in a layer of oil paper, wrapped them in the shape of ordinary plants, "avoided the eyes of Chinese spies", and secretly sent them to India.
Early tea cultivation and production in China
In the summer of 1850, tea seedlings arrived in Kolkata. The following year, Fu Qiong secretly recruited 8 tea workers from Wuyishan and purchased tea making tools to bring to India.
Early Indian tea plantations experimented with tea planting
Since then, Chinese tea plants have settled in Assam and Darjeeling in the southern foothills of the Himalayas, and gradually developed the Indian tea industry, bringing huge economic benefits to the country.
Tea gardens in darjeeling region of India
Cinchona Tree "Migration"
A large part of the history of human disease is the fight against malaria. The quinine acquired by European colonists in Peru in the 17th century gave hope for the fight against malaria.
Quinine, extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree. This tree originally only grew in the jungles of the Andes Mountains of South America at an altitude of about 1500-3000 meters. When Europeans learned of the wonders of quinine from the local indigenous population and experienced it firsthand, the cinchona tree immediately became a "fragrant feast". For a time, the "plant hunters" were eager to replicate the "Fuqiong model" to ensure that "after the Chinese tea, more important plants can be introduced to India"
Cinchona flowers with bark
In fact, the emerging countries established in the wave of independence in South America at that time had noticed the agitation of Europeans and strengthened their control over the resources of Cinchona. For example, the Bolivian government has introduced policies to restrict the export of cinchona bark and approve only a very limited number of licences for collection. In Peru, some officers even said that if anyone dared to smuggle cinchona resources out of the country, they would be arrested and cut off their legs.
However, under the heavy reward, there will be brave men. In 1856, with the support of the British East India Company, the Englishmen Markham and Spruce led a "plant hunting party" to obtain a large number of cinchona saplings and seeds in Peru and Ecuador, respectively.
Scientific illustrations of cinchona trees painted in the 19th century
Since then, cinchona trees have been successfully planted in India and have been promoted to Eurasia, Africa, Oceania and other regions. Of course, in the 20th century, as the resistance of malaria protozoa increased, the laurel of the quinine antimalarial "miracle drug" in cinchona was passed on to the artemisinin found in Chinese, which is another paragraph.
Three-leaf rubber tree "Crusoe"
Rubber is a material that modern people often come into contact with.
Natural rubber is produced in rubber trees, Central American Indians in daily life, cutting Panamanian rubber bark, the latex that flows out naturally solidifies to form a very elastic rubber, with a little treatment can be made into elastic balls, rain boots, raincoats, containers and so on.
Later, with the development of rubber use scenarios by European colonists, as well as the development of the rubber industry, the demand for natural rubber increased sharply around the world. For a time, the market price of rubber was even equivalent to silver, reaching an all-time high.
Where there is demand, there is supply. Soon, it was discovered that the three-leaf rubber tree latex native to the Amazon River Basin in Brazil had the highest content of latex. However, it is not easy to get it. Since rubber accounts for 40% of Brazil's exports, the Brazilian government has strict protection of rubber trees. Therefore, the British government once again sent the "plant hunter" Wickham to embark on a journey of "stealing seeds".
Scientific illustrations of Brazilian trefolia rubber trees painted in the 19th century
After Wickham arrived in the Brazilian rainforest, on the one hand, he collected tree species despite his own hardships, and on the other hand, under the guise of purchasing industrial raw materials, he bought from Indian farmers and middlemen, and successively collected 70,000 three-leaf rubber tree seeds. Before leaving, he also hired steamships to smuggle the seeds to England and sow them in the Royal Botanic Gardens.
Soon, the seedlings that grew from the seeds were transported to Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka), successfully opening up a new world in far Southeast Asia.
Since then, after local artificial cultivation and technological reform, the rubber industry of European colonists in Southeast Asia has become more and more developed, completely replacing the position of Wild Brazilian Rubber Trees in the world rubber market.
Key References:
LI Chonghan. A "bitter journey" full of adventure and deception, Chinese tea "passive going to sea"[J].National Humanities and History, 2022(05):68~77.
2] Juniper nuts. Bark, Elixirs and "Weapons", Cinchona's "Migration History" in the New and Old World[J].National Humanities and History, 2022(05):88~95.
Editor: Gao Jian
Transferred from the public account of the concept of confidentiality