This book uses food to explore the uneven and multifaceted encounters between European imperial societies and their colonies, examining the cultural, social, political and economic forces behind European empires.
Food is a key focus of current transdisciplinary and border research, and these chapters uncover hidden aspects of imperial dynamics and the search for food in European expansion. Containing contributions from a mix of established food historians and young researchers in the field, the collection utilizes a range of sources including colonial government records, trademark and patent records, cookery books, agronomic and botanical treaties, television shows, newspaper and magazine articles and advertisements. While the book discusses empires’ influence on the colonies and their foodways, it also reveals inter-imperial connections and interdependence by highlighting the effect of colonial foods on the metropoles.
European Empires on a Plate is a valuable resource for scholars in the fields of food history, food studies and food culture, as well as social and cultural historians.
Ilaria Berti is a historian at the Pablo de Olavide University, Seville. Her research focuses on the political use of food in imperial and colonial spaces. Together with Yun Casalilla and Svriz Wucherer, she coedited American Globalization, 1492–1850: Trans-cultural Consumption in Latin America (2022).
Stefano Magagnoli is Full Professor of Economic History at the University of Parma, Italy. His research has focused on the history of public institutions, and he is currently involved in several projects related to food history. His most recent book is Vinaigre balsamique de Modène. Un goût italien à la conquête du monde (2023).
Peter Scholliers is Emeritus Professor of History at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. His current interest is in the history of food safety in Europe since the late 18th century. Recent publications include A History of Bread: Consumers, Bakers and Public Authorities Since the 18th Century (2024). For more information, see https://researchportal.vub.be/en/persons/peter-scholliers.
Peter J. Atkins is Emeritus Professor of Geography at the University of Durham, UK. His principal interest over several decades has been food history, with reference to perishable foodstuffs. Recently he co-edited Eating on the Move from the Eighteenth Century to the Present (2023). See https://pjatkins.webspace.durham.ac.uk/.
