[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.54,0:00:08.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Baked or fried,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.13,0:00:09.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,boiled or roasted,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.60,0:00:11.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as chips or fries.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:11.58,0:00:15.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,At some point in your life,\Nyou've probably eaten a potato.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:15.20,0:00:16.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Delicious, for sure,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.66,0:00:20.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but the fact is potatoes have played a\Nmuch more significant role in our history
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.97,0:00:26.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than just that of the dietary staple\Nwe have come to know and love today.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.36,0:00:27.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Without the potato,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.81,0:00:31.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,our modern civilization \Nmight not exist at all.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.38,0:00:35.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,8,000 years ago in South America,\Nhigh atop the Andes,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:35.14,0:00:38.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,ancient Peruvians were the first\Nto cultivate the potato.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.76,0:00:41.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Containing high levels of proteins\Nand carbohydrates,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.46,0:00:44.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as well as essential fats, vitamins\Nand minerals,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:44.64,0:00:49.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,potatoes were the perfect food source\Nto fuel a large Incan working class
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.36,0:00:52.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as they built and farmed \Ntheir terraced fields,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.06,0:00:53.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,mined the Rocky Mountains,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:53.70,0:00:58.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and created the sophisticated civilization\Nof the great Incan Empire.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.49,0:01:01.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But considering how vital they were\Nto the Incan people,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.21,0:01:03.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when Spanish sailors \Nreturning from the Andes
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.62,0:01:05.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,first brought potatoes to Europe,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.94,0:01:08.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the spuds were duds.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.10,0:01:09.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Europeans simply didn't want to eat
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.86,0:01:14.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what they considered dull and tasteless\Noddities from a strange new land,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.23,0:01:19.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,too closely related to the deadly\Nnightshade plant belladonna for comfort.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.28,0:01:20.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So instead of consuming them,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.85,0:01:24.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they used potatoes \Nas decorative garden plants.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.90,0:01:28.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,More than 200 years would pass\Nbefore the potato caught on
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.23,0:01:30.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a major food source throughout Europe,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.91,0:01:31.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,though even then,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.83,0:01:34.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was predominantly eaten \Nby the lower classes.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.86,0:01:37.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, beginning around 1750,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.19,0:01:38.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and thanks at least in part
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.90,0:01:42.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the wide availability\Nof inexpensive and nutritious potatoes,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.91,0:01:45.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,European peasants \Nwith greater food security
Dialogue: 0,0:01:45.68,0:01:47.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,no longer found themselves
Dialogue: 0,0:01:47.22,0:01:51.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the mercy of the regularly \Noccurring grain famines of the time,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.71,0:01:54.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and so their populations steadily grew.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.26,0:01:57.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As a result, the British, Dutch\Nand German Empires
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.37,0:02:02.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,rose on the backs of the growing groups\Nof farmers, laborers, and soldiers,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:02.34,0:02:06.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,thus lifting the West to its place\Nof world dominion.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.42,0:02:10.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, not all European countries\Nsprouted empires.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.28,0:02:12.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After the Irish adopted the potato,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.42,0:02:14.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their population dramatically increased,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:14.81,0:02:19.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as did their dependence on the tuber\Nas a major food staple.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.17,0:02:21.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But then disaster struck.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.27,0:02:23.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,From 1845 to 1852,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.80,0:02:28.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,potato blight disease ravaged \Nthe majority of Ireland's potato crop,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.78,0:02:31.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,leading to the Irish Potato Famine,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.22,0:02:34.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one of the deadliest famines\Nin world history.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.31,0:02:37.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Over a million Irish citizens \Nstarved to death,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.42,0:02:41.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and 2 million more \Nleft their homes behind.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:41.27,0:02:44.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But of course, this wasn't the end\Nfor the potato.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.04,0:02:45.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The crop eventually recovered,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:45.80,0:02:49.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Europe's population,\Nespecially the working classes,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.11,0:02:51.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,continued to increase.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:51.31,0:02:53.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aided by the influx of Irish migrants,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.60,0:02:58.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Europe now had a large, sustainable,\Nand well-fed population
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.22,0:03:01.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who were capable of manning\Nthe emerging factories
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.24,0:03:06.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that would bring about our modern world\Nvia the Industrial Revolution.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.18,0:03:09.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it's almost impossible to imagine\Na world without the potato.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.82,0:03:12.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Would the Industrial Revolution \Never have happened?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.39,0:03:15.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Would World War II have been lost\Nby the Allies
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.12,0:03:19.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,without this easy-to-grow crop\Nthat fed the Allied troops?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.00,0:03:20.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Would it even have started?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.71,0:03:22.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When you think about it like this,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:22.37,0:03:27.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many major milestones in world history\Ncan all be at least partially attributed
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.39,0:03:31.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the simple spud \Nfrom the Peruvian hilltops.