"The King Everywhere"

"The King Everywhere"

King Frederick II of Prussia inquiring on a potato harvest

Potatoes are a food native to South America that made its way to Europe through the exportation of Native American food complexes from 15th century exploration and colonization.
King Frederick sought to modernize the kingdom of Prussia during his reign by supporting horticulture of sustainable crops to ward off famine in times of crisis. One particular crop brought from South America by Spanish explorers, the potato, was difficult to appeal to Prussian peasants at the time. One such particular historical rumor states that in order to get peasants to start eating potatoes, King Frederick deliberately baited them to steal from gardens fortified by guards that were told to let them steal.
To this day, potatoes have become an iconic addition to many German dishes, like Bratkartofflen (a fried potato dish common in Germany) since their introduction to the Germanic regions of Europe by King Frederick II.

Robert Müller

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Der_K%C3%B6nig_%C3%BCberall2.JPG

Wikimedia Commons

1886

Public Domain