CHAI 



14 MAIZE 



East Indies and had established settlements on the African 

 '• coasts in 1450. It is instructive to note that in Angola maize 

 was at one time known by the name " ble portugais " (Portu- 

 guese wheat), which suggests its source of introduction. They 

 may have introduced it to West Africa with the object of fur- 

 nishing food on the voyage across the Atlantic for the slaves 

 whom they took from Africa to work their Brazilian planta- 

 tions ; one of the Brazilian names of the plant — milho dc 

 Guine— suggests this. Moodie (Records) mentions the follow- 

 ing interesting fact under the date 1658 : "As the season for 

 sowing Dutch grain is past, he recommended that each farmer 

 should sow a good quantity of mily, or Turkey wheat brought 

 [to South Africa] from Guinea by the Hassalt ". 



Its introduction into South Africa may have taken place 

 before the establishment of the Dutch Colony in 1650. 

 Portuguese vessels calling at the Cape for water on the voyage 

 to and from their East African and East Indian Settlements, 

 probably left maize-grain with the Cape Colonists (or even 

 earlier, with the natives) in trade for water, meat, and other 

 commodities. This is suggested by the Afrikaans word for 

 maize, "mielie" being undoubtedly a corruption of the Portu- 

 guese word milho, meaning grain. 



We know how easily new plants of economic value spread 

 among the native tribes of Africa, as witness tobacco, peanuts, 

 rice, jatropha, colocasia, etc. Once the culture of maize was 

 established at several points on the African continent, e.g., 

 the Mediterranean shore, the Guinea coast, Cape Town, and 

 Mozambique, the native population would soon distribute it 

 throughout the Continent. 



14. Introduction into Asia. — To the Portuguese voyagers, 

 also, is probably due the early and rapid introduction of maize 

 into India, China, Cochin, and other parts of the far East 

 Indies, soon after the establishment of their East Indian 

 settlements by Vasco de Gama at the beginning of the six- 

 teenth century. Mendoza mentions (1585) among the plants 

 observed by him in China, " the plant called maiz, which 

 constitutes the principal food of the Indians in Mexico " 

 (Watt, 1). Another route of introduction into Asia appears 

 to have been by way of Turkey (and possibly also south 

 Russia), Arabia, or Persia. The exotic character of the plant 



