Honey
Honey is a sweet, viscous food substance produced by bees and some related insects. Bees produce honey from the sugary secretions of plants or from secretions of other insects, by regurgitation, enzymatic activity, water evaporation. Bees store honey in wax structures called a honeycomb; the variety of honey produced by honey bees is the best-known, due to its worldwide commercial production and human consumption. Honey is collected from wild bee colonies, or from hives of domesticated bees, a practice known as beekeeping or apiculture. Honey gets its sweetness from the monosaccharides fructose and glucose, has about the same relative sweetness as sucrose, it has attractive chemical properties for a distinctive flavor when used as a sweetener. Most microorganisms do not grow in honey, so sealed honey does not spoil after thousands of years. Honey provides 46 calories in a serving of one tablespoon. Honey is regarded as safe. Honey use and production have a long and varied history as an ancient activity.
Several cave paintings in Cuevas de la Araña, depict humans foraging for honey at least 8,000 years ago. Honey is produced by bees collecting nectar for use as sugars consumed to support metabolism of muscle activity during foraging or to be stored as a long-term food supply. During foraging, bees access part of the nectar collected to support metabolic activity of flight muscles, with the majority of collected nectar destined for regurgitation and storage as honey. In cold weather or when other food sources are scarce and larval bees use stored honey as food. By contriving for bee swarms to nest in human-made hives, people have been able to semidomesticate the insects and harvest excess honey. In the hive or in a wild nest, the three types of bees are: a single female queen bee a seasonally variable number of male drone bees to fertilize new queens 20,000 to 40,000 female worker beesLeaving the hive, a foraging bee collects sugar-rich flower nectar, sucking it through its proboscis and placing it in its proventriculus, which lies just dorsal to its food stomach.
The honey stomach holds about 40 mg of nectar, or 50% of the bee's unloaded weight, which can require over a thousand flowers and more than an hour to fill. The nectar begins with a water content of 70 to 80%. Salivary enzymes and proteins from the bee's hypopharyngeal gland are added to the nectar to begin breaking down the sugars, raising the water content slightly; the forager bees return to the hive, where they regurgitate and transfer nectar to the hive bees. The hive bees use their honey stomachs to ingest and regurgitate the nectar, forming bubbles between their mandibles until it is digested; the bubbles create a large surface area per volume and a portion of the water is removed through evaporation. Bee digestive enzymes hydrolyze sucrose to a mixture of glucose and fructose, break down other starches and proteins, increasing the acidity; the bees work together as a group with the regurgitation and digestion for as long as 20 minutes, passing the nectar from one bee to the next, until the product reaches the honeycombs in storage quality.
It is placed in honeycomb cells and left unsealed while still high in water content and natural yeasts which, would cause the sugars in the newly formed honey to ferment. Bees are some of the few insects that can generate large amounts of body heat, thus the hive bees regulate the hive temperature, either heating with their bodies or cooling with water evaporation, to maintain a constant temperature in the honey-storage areas around 35 °C; the process continues as hive bees flutter their wings to circulate air and evaporate water from the honey to a content around 18%, raising the sugar concentration beyond the saturation point and preventing fermentation. The bees cap the cells with wax to seal them; as removed from the hive by a beekeeper, honey has a long shelf life and will not ferment if properly sealed. Another source of honey is from a number of wasp species, such as Brachygastra lecheguana and Brachygastra mellifica, which are found in South and Central America; these species are known to produce honey.
Some wasps, such as Polistes versicolor consume honey themselves, alternating between feeding on pollen in the middle of their lifecycles and feeding on honey, which can better provide for their energy needs. Honey is collected from domesticated beehives. On average, a hive will produce about 65 pounds of honey per year. Wild bee nests are sometimes located by following a honeyguide bird. To safely collect honey from a hive, beekeepers pacify the bees using a bee smoker; the smoke triggers a feeding instinct, making them less aggressive and the smoke obscures the pheromones the bees use to communicate. The honeycomb is removed from the hive and the honey may be extracted from that, either by crushing or by using a honey extractor; the honey is usually filtered to remove beeswax and other debris. Before the invention of removable frames, bee colonies were sacrificed to conduct the harvest; the harvester would replace the entire colony the next spring. Since the invention of removable frames, the principles of husbandry led most beekeepers to ensure that their bees have enough stores to survive the winter, either by leaving some honey in the beehive or by providing the colony with a honey substitute such as sugar water or crystalline sugar.
The amount o
Toledo, Spain
Toledo is a city and municipality located in central Spain. Toledo was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986 for its extensive monumental and cultural heritage. Toledo is known as the "Imperial City" for having been the main venue of the court of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, as the "City of the Three Cultures" for the cultural influences of Christians and Jews reflected in its history, it was the capital from 542 to 725 AD of the ancient Visigothic kingdom, which followed the fall of the Roman Empire, the location of historic events such as the Visigothic Councils of Toledo. Toledo has a long history in the production of bladed weapons, which are now common souvenirs from the city. People who were born or have lived in Toledo include Brunhilda of Austrasia, Al-Zarqali, Garcilaso de la Vega, Eleanor of Toledo, Alfonso X, Israeli ben Joseph, El Greco; as of 2015, the city had a population of 83,226 and an area of 232.1 km2. The town was granted arms in the 16th century, which by special royal privilege was based on the royal of arms of Spain.
Toledo is mentioned by the Roman historian Livy as sed loco munita. Roman general Marcus Fulvius Nobilior fought a battle near the city in 193 BC against a confederation of Celtic tribes including the Vaccaei and Celtiberi, defeating them and capturing a king called Hilermus. At that time, Toletum was a city of the Carpetani tribe, part of the region of Carpetania, it was incorporated into the Roman Empire as a civitas stipendiaria, that is, a tributary city of non-citizens, by Flavian times it had achieved the status of municipium. With this status, city officials of Carpetani origin, obtained Roman citizenship for public service, the forms of Roman law and politics were adopted. At this time, a Roman circus, city walls, public baths, a municipal water supply and storage system were constructed in Toletum The Roman circus in Toledo was one of the largest in Hispania, at 423 metres long and 100 metres wide, with a track dimension of 408 metres long and 86 metres wide. Chariot races were held on special holidays and were commissioned by private citizens to celebrate career achievements.
A fragmentary stone inscription records circus games paid for by a citizen of unknown name to celebrate his achieving the sevirate, a kind of priesthood conferring high status. Archaeologists have identified portions of a special seat of the sort used by the city elites to attend circus games, called a sella curulis; the circus could hold up to 15000 spectators. During Roman times, Toledo was never a provincial capital nor a conventus iuridicus, but it started to gain importance in late antiquity. There are indications that large private houses within the city walls were enlarged, while several large villas were built north of the city through the third and fourth centuries. Games were held in the circus into the late fourth and early fifth centuries C. E. an indication of active city life and ongoing patronage by wealthy elites. A church council was held in Toledo in the year 400 to discuss the conflict with Priscillianism. A second council of Toledo was held in 527; the Visigothic king Theudis was in Toledo in 546.
This is strong though not certain evidence. King Athanagild died in Toledo in 568. Although Theudis and Athangild based themselves in Toledo, Toledo was not yet the capital city of the Iberian peninsula, as Theudis and Athangild's power was limited in extent, the Suevi ruling Galicia and local elites dominating Lusitania and Cantabria; this changed with Liuvigild. The Visigoths ruled from Toledo until the Moors conquered the Iberian peninsula in the early years of 8th century. Today in the historic center basements, wells and ancient water pipes are preserved that since Roman times have been used in the city. A series of church councils was held in Toledo under the Visigoths. A synod of Arian bishops was held in 580 to discuss theological reconciliation with Nicene Christianity. Liuvigild's successor, hosted the third council of Toledo, at which the Visigothic kings abandoned Arianism and reconciled with the existing Hispano-Roman episcopate. A synod held in 610 transferred the metropolitanate of the old province of Carthaginensis from Cartagena to Toledo.
At that time, Cartagena was ruled by the Byzantines, this move ensured a closer relation between the bishops of Spain and the Visigothic kings. King Sisebut forced Jews in the Visigothic kingdom to convert to Christianity; the Fifth and Sixth Councils of Toledo placed church sanctions on anyone who would challenge the Visigothic kings. The Seventh Council of Toledo instituted a requirement that all bishops in the area of a royal city, that is, of Toledo, must reside for one month per year in Toledo; this was a stage in "the elevation of Toledo as the primatial see of the whole church of the Visgothic kingdom". In addition, the seventh council declared that any clergy fleeing the kingdom, assisting conspirators against the king, or aiding conspirators, would be excommunicated and no one should remove this sentence; the ban on lifing these sentences of excommunication was lifted at the Eighth Council of Toledo in 653, at which, for the first time, decisions were signed by palace officials as well as bishops.
The eighth council
Oreo
Oreo is a brand of cookie consisting of two chocolate wafers with a sweet crème filling, marketed as "Chocolate Sandwich Cookie". Introduced in 1912, Oreo is the bestselling cookie in the United States; as of 2018, the version sold in the U. S. is made by the Nabisco division of Mondelez International. Oreos are available in over one hundred different countries. Many different varieties of Oreo cookies have been produced, limited edition runs have become popular in the 21st century; the origin of the name Oreo is unknown, but there are many hypotheses, including derivations from the French word or, meaning gold, or the Greek word ωραίο, meaning tasty, nice or well done. Others believe that the cookie was named Oreo because the name was short and easy to pronounce. Another theory is that the name derives from a genus of the laurel family. Food writer Stella Parks notes in her book BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts that the original design of the Oreo includes a laurel wreath; the "Oreo Biscuit" was first developed and produced by the National Biscuit Company in 1912 at its Chelsea, Manhattan factory in the current-day Chelsea Market complex, located on Ninth Avenue between 15th and 16th Streets.
Today, this same block of Ninth Avenue is known as "Oreo Way". The name Oreo was first trademarked on March 14, 1912, it was launched as an imitation of the Hydrox cookie manufactured by Sunshine company, introduced in 1908. The original design on the face of the Oreo featured a wreath around the edge of the cookie and the name "OREO" in the center. In the United States, they were sold for 25 cents a pound in novelty metal canisters with clear glass tops; the first Oreo was sold on March 1912, to a grocer in Hoboken, New Jersey. The Oreo Biscuit was renamed in 1921 to "Oreo Sandwich". A new design for the face of the cookie was launched in 1924. In 1920, a second lemon crème-filled variety of the Oreo was introduced, as an alternative to the white crème-filled variety, but this was discontinued in 1924 and the original flavor was the only version available for the next several decades; the modern Oreo cookie filling was developed by Nabisco's principal food scientist, Sam Porcello, who retired from Nabisco in 1993.
Porcello held five patents directly related to his work on the Oreo. In the early 1990s, health concerns prompted Nabisco to replace the lard in the crème filling with hydrogenated vegetable oil. Oreo cookies are popular with people that have certain dietary restrictions, such as vegans, as the crème filling does not use any animal products. However, there is still a risk of cross-contamination from other dairy-containing products made in the same production areas.. From January 2006, Nabisco replaced the trans fat in the Oreo cookie with non-hydrogenated vegetable oil. Nabisco began a marketing campaign in 2008, advertising the use of Oreo cookies in an online game called DSRL, introduced the week before Super Bowl XLII. DSRL had been endorsed by football brothers Peyton Eli Manning. Another campaign was launched for Golden Double Stuf Oreo cookies, in which the Manning brothers were challenged by Donald Trump and a character called "Double Trump", played by Darrell Hammond; the Mannings won both races.
Another advertisement featured a "Hooded Menace" threatening to take over the DSRL, with Eli Manning and Stufy needing some help, which aired on September 14, 2010. Six days it was announced that Shaquille O'Neal and Apolo Ohno had joined Oreo's DSRL veterans Eli Manning and Venus Williams. In April 2011, Oreo announced its special edition Oreo cookies with blue crème to promote the 2011 3D computer animated film Rio; the promotion included stickers inside each package of cookies. Two contests were announced: by completing an album of stickers, consumers could win three movie passes and medium snack bar combos; the promotion was available in Ecuador and Colombia, ended on May 30, 2011. In June 2012, Oreo posted an advertisement displaying an Oreo cookie with rainbow colored crème to celebrate LGBT Pride month; the advertisement prompted some negative comments, but Kraft stood by their promotion, stating that "Kraft Foods has a proud history of celebrating diversity and inclusiveness. We feel the Oreo ad is a fun reflection of our values."
This was followed during 2012 by a series of adverts commemorating other holidays and events, including a blue and red crème Oreo to honor Bastille Day, a stream of cookie crumbs marking the appearance of the Delta Aquariids meteor shower, a cookie with a jagged bite taken out of it to promote Shark Week on The Discovery Channel. Oreo cookies are distributed worldwide through a variety of sales and marketing channels. A
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus known as Muslim Spain, Muslim Iberia, or Islamic Iberia, was a medieval Muslim territory and cultural domain that in its early period occupied most of Iberia, today's Portugal and Spain. At its greatest geographical extent, it occupied the northwest of the Iberian peninsula and a part of present day southern France Septimania and for nearly a century extended its control from Fraxinet over the Alpine passes which connect Italy with the remainder of Western Europe; the name more describes the parts of the peninsula governed by Muslims at various times between 711 and 1492, though the boundaries changed as the Christian Reconquista progressed shrinking to the south around modern-day Andalusia and to the Emirate of Granada. Following the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, al-Andalus at its greatest extent, was divided into five administrative units, corresponding to modern Andalusia and Galicia, Castile and León, Aragon, the County of Barcelona, Septimania; as a political domain, it successively constituted a province of the Umayyad Caliphate, initiated by the Caliph Al-Walid I.
Rule under these kingdoms led to a rise in cultural exchange and cooperation between Muslims and Christians. Christians and Jews were subject to a special tax called Jizya, to the state, which in return provided internal autonomy in practicing their religion and offered the same level of protections by the Muslim rulers. Under the Caliphate of Córdoba, al-Andalus was a beacon of learning, the city of Córdoba, the largest in Europe, became one of the leading cultural and economic centres throughout the Mediterranean Basin and the Islamic world. Achievements that advanced Islamic and Western science came from al-Andalus, including major advances in trigonometry, surgery, pharmacology and other fields. Al-Andalus became a major educational center for Europe and the lands around the Mediterranean Sea as well as a conduit for cultural and scientific exchange between the Islamic and Christian worlds. For much of its history, al-Andalus existed in conflict with Christian kingdoms to the north. After the fall of the Umayyad caliphate, al-Andalus was fragmented into minor states and principalities.
Attacks from the Christians intensified, led by the Castilians under Alfonso VI. The Almoravid empire intervened and repelled the Christian attacks on the region, deposing the weak Andalusi Muslim princes and included al-Andalus under direct Berber rule. In the next century and a half, al-Andalus became a province of the Berber Muslim empires of the Almoravids and Almohads, both based in Marrakesh; the Christian kingdoms in the north of the Iberian Peninsula overpowered the Muslim states to the south. In 1085, Alfonso VI captured Toledo. With the fall of Córdoba in 1236, most of the south fell under Christian rule and the Emirate of Granada became a tributary state of the Kingdom of Castile two years later. In 1249, the Portuguese Reconquista culminated with the conquest of the Algarve by Afonso III, leaving Granada as the last Muslim state on the Iberian Peninsula. On January 2, 1492, Emir Muhammad XII surrendered the Emirate of Granada to Queen Isabella I of Castile, completing the Christian Reconquista of the peninsula.
Although al-Andalus ended as a political entity, the nearly eight centuries of Islamic rule which preceded and accompanied the early formation of the Spanish nation-state and identity has left a profound effect on the country's culture and language in Andalusia. The toponym al-Andalus is first attested by inscriptions on coins minted in 716 by the new Muslim government of Iberia; these coins, called dinars, were inscribed in both Arabic. The etymology of the name "al-Andalus" has traditionally been derived from the name of the Vandals. In 1986, Joaquín Vallvé proposed that "al-Andalus" was a corruption of the name Atlantis, Halm in 1989 derived the name from a Gothic term, *landahlauts, in 2002, Georg Bossong suggested its derivation from a pre-Roman substrate. During the caliphate of the Umayyad Caliph Al-Walid I, the commander Tariq ibn-Ziyad led a small force that landed at Gibraltar on April 30, 711, ostensibly to intervene in a Visigothic civil war. After a decisive victory over King Roderic at the Battle of Guadalete on July 19, 711, Tariq ibn-Ziyad, joined by Arab governor Musa ibn Nusayr of Ifriqiya, brought most of the Visigothic Kingdom under Muslim occupation in a seven-year campaign.
They occupied Visigothic Septimania in southern France. Most of the Iberian peninsula became part of the expanding Umayyad Empire, under the name of al-Andalus, it was organized as a province subordinate to Ifriqiya, so, for the first few decades, the governors of al-Andalus were appointed by the emir of Kairouan, rather than the Caliph in Damascus. The regional capital was set at Córdoba, the first influx of Muslim settlers was distributed; the small army Tariq led in the initial conquest consisted of Berbers, while Musa's Arab force of over 12,000 soldiers was accompanied by a group of mawālī, that is, non-Arab Muslims, who were clients of the
Chile
Chile the Republic of Chile, is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, the Drake Passage in the far south. Chilean territory includes the Pacific islands of Juan Fernández, Salas y Gómez and Easter Island in Oceania. Chile claims about 1,250,000 square kilometres of Antarctica, although all claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty; the arid Atacama Desert in northern Chile contains great mineral wealth, principally copper. The small central area dominates in terms of population and agricultural resources, is the cultural and political center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century when it incorporated its northern and southern regions. Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, features a string of volcanoes and lakes; the southern coast is a labyrinth of fjords, canals, twisting peninsulas, islands.
Spain conquered and colonized the region in the mid-16th century, replacing Inca rule in the north and centre, but failing to conquer the independent Mapuche who inhabited what is now south-central Chile. After declaring its independence from Spain in 1818, Chile emerged in the 1830s as a stable authoritarian republic. In the 19th century, Chile saw significant economic and territorial growth, ending Mapuche resistance in the 1880s and gaining its current northern territory in the War of the Pacific after defeating Peru and Bolivia. In the 1960s and 1970s, the country experienced severe left-right political polarization and turmoil; this development culminated with the 1973 Chilean coup d'état that overthrew Salvador Allende's democratically elected left-wing government and instituted a 16-year-long right-wing military dictatorship that left more than 3,000 people dead or missing. The regime, headed by Augusto Pinochet, ended in 1990 after it lost a referendum in 1988 and was succeeded by a center-left coalition which ruled through four presidencies until 2010.
The modern sovereign state of Chile is among South America's most economically and stable and prosperous nations, with a high-income economy and high living standards. It leads Latin American nations in rankings of human development, income per capita, state of peace, economic freedom, low perception of corruption, it ranks high regionally in sustainability of the state, democratic development. Chile is a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, joining in 2010, it has the lowest homicide rate in the Americas after Canada. Chile is a founding member of the United Nations, the Union of South American Nations and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. There are various theories about the origin of the word Chile. According to 17th-century Spanish chronicler Diego de Rosales, the Incas called the valley of the Aconcagua "Chili" by corruption of the name of a Picunche tribal chief called Tili, who ruled the area at the time of the Incan conquest in the 15th century.
Another theory points to the similarity of the valley of the Aconcagua with that of the Casma Valley in Peru, where there was a town and valley named Chili. Other theories say Chile may derive its name from a Native American word meaning either "ends of the earth" or "sea gulls". Another origin attributed to chilli is the onomatopoeic cheele-cheele—the Mapuche imitation of the warble of a bird locally known as trile; the Spanish conquistadors heard about this name from the Incas, the few survivors of Diego de Almagro's first Spanish expedition south from Peru in 1535–36 called themselves the "men of Chilli". Almagro is credited with the universalization of the name Chile, after naming the Mapocho valley as such; the older spelling "Chili" was in use in English until at least 1900 before switching to "Chile". Stone tool evidence indicates humans sporadically frequented the Monte Verde valley area as long as 18,500 years ago. About 10,000 years ago, migrating indigenous Peoples settled in fertile valleys and coastal areas of what is present-day Chile.
Settlement sites from early human habitation include Monte Verde, Cueva del Milodón and the Pali-Aike Crater's lava tube. The Incas extended their empire into what is now northern Chile, but the Mapuche resisted many attempts by the Inca Empire to subjugate them, despite their lack of state organization, they fought against his army. The result of the bloody three-day confrontation known as the Battle of the Maule was that the Inca conquest of the territories of Chile ended at the Maule river. In 1520, while attempting to circumnavigate the globe, Ferdinand Magellan discovered the southern passage now named after him thus becoming the first European to set foot on what is now Chile; the next Europeans to reach Chile were Diego de Almagro and his band of Spanish conquistadors, who came from Peru in 1535 seeking gold. The Spanish encountered various cultures that supported themselves principally through slash-and-burn agriculture and hunting; the conquest of Chile began in earnest in 1540 and was carried out by Pedro de Valdivia, one of Francisco Pizarro's lieutenants, who founded the city of Santiago on 12 February 1541.
Although the Spanish did not find the extensive gold and silver they sought, they recognize
Peruvian cuisine
Peruvian cuisine reflects local practices and ingredients—including influences from the indigenous population including the Inca, cuisines brought in with colonizers and immigrants from Europe and West Africa. Without the familiar ingredients from their home countries, immigrants modified their traditional cuisines by using ingredients available in Peru; the four traditional staples of Peruvian cuisine are corn and other tubers and legumes. Staples brought by the Spanish include rice and meats. Many traditional foods—such as quinoa, chili peppers, several roots and tubers have increased in popularity in recent decades, reflecting a revival of interest in native Peruvian foods and culinary techniques. Chef Gaston Acurio has become well known for raising awareness of local ingredients; the US food critic Eric Asimov has described it as one of the world's most important cuisines and as an exemplar of fusion cuisine, due to its long multicultural history. Peru is considered an important center for the genetic diversity of the world's crops: Potatoes, many varieties of potato are native to the Andes mountains.
Over 99% of all cultivated potatoes worldwide are descendants of a single subspecies, namely Solanum tuberosum. This subspecies has developed into thousands of varieties that vary by size, shape and other sensory characteristics. Quinoa, three varieties Kaniwa Tarwi, a legume native to the Andes, similar to the Lupin bean Lima bean Maca Oca, a potato-like tuber Mashua, a potato-like tuber Ulluco, a potato-like tuber Caigua, a vegetable with a cucumber like taste Capsicum baccatum chile peppers, including Ají Amarillo and Ají Limón Capsicum pubescens, Rocoto chile Capsicum chinense, Ají Panca and Ají Mochero/Limo Fruits—Peru has about 20 native fruits that are used in cooking or eaten freshThe sweet potato is native to America and was domesticated there at least 5,000 years ago; the much lower molecular diversity found in Ecuador. Only two varieties of sweet potato are available for sale in the markets, but there are more varieties around the country. One tastes sweet; the other has purple skin, is white and brown inside, is only moderately sweet.
Another variety, characterized by small tubers and dark skin, is available. Potatoes are available in a big variety. Peru has around more than 5000 varieties of the biggest on the world; the two most common potatoes are a more expensive yellow flesh type. The only commercially available native fruits native to the Andes region in general are lucuma, camu camu, prickly pear, cape gooseberry, pacay, dragon fruit, papaya, mammee apple, banana passionfruit, granadilla, moriche palm fruit, tamarillo. Yacon, although an underground tuber, is used as a fruit. None of the other native fruits are commercially available. From Peru, the Spanish brought back to Europe several foods that would become staples for many peoples around the world. Potatoes: Potatoes were introduced to Europe from Latin America, they were considered livestock feed in Europe until French chemist Antoine-Augustin Parmentier began serving dishes made from the tubers at his lavish banquets. His guests were convinced that potatoes were fit for human consumption.
The varieties used in Europe and most of the world, derive from a subspecies indigenous to Peruvian andes, namely Solanum tuberosum. Beans: Several varieties of the common bean are native to Latin America including the lima bean; the varieties of chili peppers, potatoes and maize that the Spanish brought back to Europe, were native to Peru: Peppers: Chili peppers are native to America. The varieties most used around the world, derive from Mexico and Central America. Sweet Peppers are native to Central America. Peruvian Ají peppers are unknown outside of the Andean region of South America. Maize: Maize, is native to Mesoamerica and Peru, The varieties used in Europe and most of the world are from Central America; the corn grown in Peru is so sweet and unique in the world cause the characteristics it has and has large grains and is not popular outside of Latin America. Tomatoes: The tomato is native to Peru; this is evidenced by the great number of varieties available in that region. In contrast, Mesoamerica only has two varieties that are available commercially, namely the common Globe and Plum Tomato.
Many foods from Spain are now considered Peruvian staples, including wheat, oats, lentils, broad beans, cabbage, cauliflower, onions, carrots, lettuce, wine, olives, pork, numerous spices, quince, oranges, apricots, plums, melons, pomegranates, white sugar, walnuts, hen eggs, cow's milk, etc. Many food plants popular in Europe, were imported to Peru. During the colonial period, continuing up until the time of the Second World War, Peruvian cuisine focused on Spanish models and ignored anything that could be regarded as native or Indian. Traditional food plants, which the indigenous people continued to eat, were regarded as "peasant food" to be avoided; these colo
Colombia
Colombia the Republic of Colombia, is a sovereign state situated in the northwest of South America, with territories in Central America. Colombia shares a border to the northwest with Panama, to the east with Venezuela and Brazil and to the south with Ecuador and Peru, it shares its maritime limits with Costa Rica, Honduras, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Colombia is a unitary, constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments, with the capital in Bogota. Colombia has been inhabited by various indigenous peoples since 12,000 BCE, including the Muisca and the Tairona, along with the Inca Empire that expanded to the southwest of the country; the Spanish arrived in 1499 and by the mid-16th century conquered and colonized much of the region, establishing the New Kingdom of Granada, with Santafé de Bogotá as its capital. Independence from Spain was achieved in 1819, but by 1830 the "Gran Colombia" Federation was dissolved, with what is now Colombia and Panama emerging as the Republic of New Granada.
The new nation experimented with federalism as the Granadine Confederation, the United States of Colombia, before the Republic of Colombia was declared in 1886. Panama seceded in 1903. Beginning in the 1960s, the country suffered from an asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict and rampant political violence, both of which escalated in the 1990s. Since 2005, there has been significant improvement in security and rule of law. Colombia is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse countries in the world, with its rich cultural heritage reflecting influences by indigenous peoples, European settlement, forced African migration, immigration from Europe and the Middle East. Urban centres are located in the highlands of the Andes mountains and the Caribbean coast. Colombia is among the world's 17 megadiverse countries, the most densely biodiverse per square kilometer. Colombia is a middle power and regional actor in Latin America, it is part of the CIVETS group of six leading emerging markets and a member of the UN, the WTO, the OAS, the Pacific Alliance, other international organizations.
Colombia's diversified economy is the fourth largest in Latin America, with macroeconomic stability and favorable long-term growth prospects. The name "Colombia" is derived from the last name of Christopher Columbus, it was conceived by the Venezuelan revolutionary Francisco de Miranda as a reference to all the New World, but to those portions under Spanish rule. The name was adopted by the Republic of Colombia of 1819, formed from the territories of the old Viceroyalty of New Granada; when Venezuela and Cundinamarca came to exist as independent states, the former Department of Cundinamarca adopted the name "Republic of New Granada". New Granada changed its name in 1858 to the Granadine Confederation. In 1863 the name was again changed, this time to United States of Colombia, before adopting its present name – the Republic of Colombia – in 1886. To refer to this country, the Colombian government uses the terms Colombia and República de Colombia. Owing to its location, the present territory of Colombia was a corridor of early human migration from Mesoamerica and the Caribbean to the Andes and Amazon basin.
The oldest archaeological finds are from the Pubenza and El Totumo sites in the Magdalena Valley 100 kilometres southwest of Bogotá. These sites date from the Paleoindian period. At Puerto Hormiga and other sites, traces from the Archaic Period have been found. Vestiges indicate that there was early occupation in the regions of El Abra and Tequendama in Cundinamarca; the oldest pottery discovered in the Americas, found at San Jacinto, dates to 5000–4000 BCE. Indigenous people inhabited the territory, now Colombia by 12,500 BCE. Nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes at the El Abra, Tibitó and Tequendama sites near present-day Bogotá traded with one another and with other cultures from the Magdalena River Valley. Between 5000 and 1000 BCE, hunter-gatherer tribes transitioned to agrarian societies. Beginning in the 1st millennium BCE, groups of Amerindians including the Muisca, Zenú, Tairona developed the political system of cacicazgos with a pyramidal structure of power headed by caciques; the Muisca inhabited the area of what is now the Departments of Boyacá and Cundinamarca high plateau where they formed the Muisca Confederation.
They farmed maize, potato and cotton, traded gold, blankets, ceramic handicrafts and rock salt with neighboring nations. The Tairona inhabited northern Colombia in the isolated mountain range of Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta; the Quimbaya inhabited regions of the Cauca River Valley between the Western and Central Ranges of the Colombian Andes. Most of the Amerindians practiced agriculture and the social structure of each indigenous community was different; some groups of indigenous people such as the Caribs lived in a state of permanent war, but others had less bellicose attitudes. The Incas expanded their empire onto the southwest part of the country. Alonso de Ojeda reached the Guajira Peninsula in 1499. Spanish explorers, led by Rodrigo de Bastidas, made the first exploration
