1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,960 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Frye. 3 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:16,079 Speaker 2: And I'm Tracy V. Wilson. 4 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:18,840 Speaker 1: Tracy, have you noticed that strawberries are kind of having 5 00:00:18,880 --> 00:00:19,280 Speaker 1: a moment. 6 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:23,680 Speaker 2: I'm gonna be honest, I haven't, just because I'm not 7 00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 2: aware of anything happening fashionably. 8 00:00:28,000 --> 00:00:29,480 Speaker 1: Do you know what it is? It's also just that 9 00:00:29,520 --> 00:00:32,200 Speaker 1: you're not a rabid consumer the way I am. Okay, 10 00:00:32,479 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: Holly buys a lot of things she doesn't mean, but 11 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:39,400 Speaker 1: strawberries are. They're having a moment. If you look at 12 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:42,480 Speaker 1: clothing or home design goods that are out this year, 13 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:46,640 Speaker 1: strawberries are everywhere. I literally got an email promotion for 14 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 1: like plush strawberry pillows. Oh my goodness. It's like, all right, 15 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,400 Speaker 1: humans have been enjoying strawberries around the world for thousands 16 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:01,040 Speaker 1: of years, but as a cultivated plant, they're actually pretty new. 17 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:04,880 Speaker 1: The story of how they went from a small forage 18 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:08,280 Speaker 1: item to one of the world's most popular fruits. There 19 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: is a technicality in there regarding that designation that we're 20 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:14,080 Speaker 1: going to talk about in just a moment, but that 21 00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: story involves a lot of crossbreeding experimentation as you would expect, 22 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: but what I love about it is there's also a 23 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: bit of spycraft. I didn't mean to pick another French thing. 24 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:28,080 Speaker 1: I really just wanted to learn more about strawberries because 25 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: they were in my face everywhere. But that's what we're 26 00:01:31,560 --> 00:01:32,680 Speaker 1: talking about today. 27 00:01:34,720 --> 00:01:39,400 Speaker 2: Strawberries are actually part of the rose family, from the 28 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:44,040 Speaker 2: family rose a cia. If that seems surprising, the rose 29 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 2: family is really quite massive. It contains four subfamilies, more 30 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:53,640 Speaker 2: than ninety genus categories, and roughly twenty five hundred species. 31 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:56,320 Speaker 1: A rose is. 32 00:01:56,240 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 2: In the genus Rosa. We think of it as a flower, 33 00:01:59,480 --> 00:02:03,880 Speaker 2: but rose are also a fruit. The Roseesia family also 34 00:02:04,000 --> 00:02:10,480 Speaker 2: contains almonds, pears, and apples, lots of other fruits as well. Strawberries, 35 00:02:10,680 --> 00:02:14,160 Speaker 2: which are rich and vitamin see, are in the genus Frigaria. 36 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 2: So the seeds of the strawberry, if you've ever seen one, 37 00:02:17,919 --> 00:02:20,280 Speaker 2: are of course on the outside, and that makes it 38 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,959 Speaker 2: unique in the fruit world. But it's actually not really 39 00:02:25,040 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 2: a fruit or a berry at all. A strawberry, the 40 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 2: thing we eat and what we think of as the strawberry, 41 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 2: is actually the end of the plant's stamen, right it's 42 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:38,000 Speaker 2: the receptacle that receives pollen. So if you look at 43 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,120 Speaker 2: a strawberry flour, there's a nodule at the center, and 44 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 2: that is the receptacle, and it's that nodule that eventually 45 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 2: grows into the fleshy thing we eat, provided it's been pollinated. 46 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:53,040 Speaker 2: And the strawberry is sometimes called an accessory fruit because 47 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 2: of this, and each of those seeds on the outside 48 00:02:56,120 --> 00:02:59,239 Speaker 2: is the actual fruit, known as a chienes, although we 49 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 2: wouldn't think of them fruit because they're not delicious. I mean, 50 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:05,359 Speaker 2: there might be someone that thinks strawberry seeds are delicious, 51 00:03:05,400 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 2: but I've never met one. And an average strawberry has 52 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 2: as many as two hundred of these not really seeds 53 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:15,920 Speaker 2: on its skin, and those can be used to grow 54 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 2: new plants, but the more common way for new plants 55 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 2: to form is actually through runners. So a healthy plant 56 00:03:22,680 --> 00:03:25,639 Speaker 2: will send out shoots called stolens, and those who will 57 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:27,799 Speaker 2: root when they touch the ground, and then a new 58 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 2: plant will grow there. Strawberries have not been cultivated in 59 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:35,360 Speaker 2: the sense that we know them now for really all 60 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:38,400 Speaker 2: that long, only about two hundred and fifty years, but 61 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:41,080 Speaker 2: of course they've been around for a lot longer than that. 62 00:03:41,800 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 2: If you've ever seen strawberries growing in the wild, or 63 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 2: even if you've grown some from seed, those were probably 64 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 2: a lot smaller than the ones you might buy at 65 00:03:51,400 --> 00:03:55,120 Speaker 2: a grocery store. And that's what strawberries are like without 66 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 2: human intervention in breeding and cultivation. But even before humans 67 00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 2: knew how to grow big, juicy strawberries, they really loved them. 68 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 2: Horticultural biologist James F. Hancock notes in his book on Strawberries, quote, 69 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 2: the ease with which strawberries can be collected from the 70 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 2: wild may actually have delayed their cultivation until almost modern times. 71 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:23,760 Speaker 2: Naturally occurring strawberries have been enjoyed in recorded history since 72 00:04:23,800 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 2: at least ancient Rome, and probably longer, but that's the 73 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 2: first time we have a record of them. It's estimated 74 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:34,680 Speaker 2: that people started domesticating strawberries, growing them on purpose but 75 00:04:34,839 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 2: not messing with their genetics, about two thousand years ago, 76 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 2: and that seems like a long time, but if you 77 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 2: compare that to the domestication of grain, which started roughly 78 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:48,440 Speaker 2: ten thousand years ago, it's obviously not that long. And 79 00:04:48,520 --> 00:04:51,640 Speaker 2: even so, these were in all likelihoods just clippings or 80 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 2: transplants of the small, previously forged strawberries that we mentioned 81 00:04:55,960 --> 00:04:59,159 Speaker 2: a moment ago, and again not the fat, juicy ones. 82 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:02,800 Speaker 2: Larger versions seen in markets today are the ones that 83 00:05:02,839 --> 00:05:05,719 Speaker 2: we mentioned as being cultivated in the last two hundred 84 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:08,240 Speaker 2: and fifty years, and we'll get to how those came 85 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:13,479 Speaker 2: about in just a bit. Avid mentioned strawberries in his writings, 86 00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:16,520 Speaker 2: and so did Virgil, but these mentions were not about 87 00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:20,840 Speaker 2: them as food, more about them as ornamentals and identifiers. 88 00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:26,679 Speaker 2: For example, in Avid's Metamorphoses, strawberries come up twice, once 89 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:29,640 Speaker 2: in a line where he just mentions the gathering of 90 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:33,839 Speaker 2: mountain strawberries, and another where character of Polypemus says to 91 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:38,839 Speaker 2: his estranged lover quote, with thine own hands, thou shalt 92 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:43,479 Speaker 2: thyself gather the soft strawberries growing beneath the woodland shade. 93 00:05:44,480 --> 00:05:48,360 Speaker 2: Pliny the Elder mentions the strawberry in Natural History as 94 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:51,400 Speaker 2: a plant native to Italy, but he also seems to 95 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:54,359 Speaker 2: confuse it with another plant with a similar name. In 96 00:05:54,440 --> 00:05:59,279 Speaker 2: the same book, and in Virgil's work Eclogues, written in 97 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,080 Speaker 2: the first cent BCE, he notes the boys that gather 98 00:06:03,160 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 2: flowers and strawberries low hid within the grass a serpent lies. 99 00:06:08,320 --> 00:06:11,480 Speaker 2: It's a warning about snakes more than it's about the strawberry. 100 00:06:12,200 --> 00:06:15,479 Speaker 2: The scant other mentions of strawberries and writing before the 101 00:06:15,480 --> 00:06:18,800 Speaker 2: fourteenth century tended to be about the appearance of the 102 00:06:18,839 --> 00:06:23,200 Speaker 2: berries or the flowers rather than their edible potential. 103 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:27,240 Speaker 1: And even once people did start eating them or consuming 104 00:06:27,320 --> 00:06:30,479 Speaker 1: them in other ways, strawberries were just as likely to 105 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: be consumed for health reasons as for having any kind 106 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: of sweet fruit, and all parts of the plant have 107 00:06:36,960 --> 00:06:39,919 Speaker 1: been used in various treatments. So there are mentions of 108 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:46,880 Speaker 1: strawberries being used to treat diarrhea, gout, indigestion, skin irritations, sunburn, pimples, 109 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:51,719 Speaker 1: and yellow teeth in various medical texts throughout history, and 110 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:55,799 Speaker 1: these uses have some solid scientific basis, although those early 111 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:59,119 Speaker 1: users of strawberries as medicine wouldn't have had the data 112 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 1: we have today. To Turk heard to you right now, 113 00:07:01,160 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: we know that strawberries are, as we mentioned earlier, loaded 114 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:09,280 Speaker 1: with vitamin C and also full like acid, antioxidants and potassium, 115 00:07:09,800 --> 00:07:11,480 Speaker 1: as well as just being full of fiber. 116 00:07:12,640 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 2: Where the name strawberry comes from is a matter of speculation, 117 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:20,400 Speaker 2: and the theory is very quite a lot One idea 118 00:07:20,560 --> 00:07:22,920 Speaker 2: is that because they grow on the ground, they may 119 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 2: have often been seen growing in straw. Another is that 120 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:31,000 Speaker 2: the berries might have been threaded on straw to be 121 00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:33,720 Speaker 2: easy to carry and sell, or maybe that they were 122 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:38,480 Speaker 2: stored on beds of straw for transport to markets. Another, 123 00:07:38,880 --> 00:07:40,840 Speaker 2: and one that maybe makes the most sense, is that 124 00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:44,400 Speaker 2: they were first called strawberries because of the way that 125 00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:48,040 Speaker 2: they grew strewn about the ground, or maybe because they 126 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 2: ripened at the same time as hay did, and then 127 00:07:51,320 --> 00:07:55,200 Speaker 2: that eventually the name shifted to a different vowel in 128 00:07:55,240 --> 00:08:00,000 Speaker 2: the first syllable. I have seen the speculation that maybe 129 00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:03,200 Speaker 2: those little seed like bits on the outside looked like 130 00:08:03,480 --> 00:08:07,760 Speaker 2: straw dust to people, and that was maybe the source 131 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:11,080 Speaker 2: of it. But anyway, the first known use of the 132 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 2: word strawberry comes from a pictorial vocabulary of the latter 133 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 2: fifteenth century. In the fourteenth century, strawberries had become popular 134 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:24,160 Speaker 2: enough in France that the transition was made from foraging 135 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 2: them to gardening them. This was a strawberry species that 136 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:31,480 Speaker 2: had been found in the woods fragaria vesca, which people 137 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:35,199 Speaker 2: started to purposely grow near their homes for easy access, 138 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:38,640 Speaker 2: Although they still were often sought out for their visual 139 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:42,920 Speaker 2: appeal and not necessarily for eating. There are also many 140 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:46,640 Speaker 2: instances of strawberries appearing in religious art in Europe in 141 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:51,079 Speaker 2: its early years of cultivation. Strawberries appear in imagery throughout 142 00:08:51,120 --> 00:08:56,720 Speaker 2: the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, often symbolizing righteousness. In thirteen 143 00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:59,719 Speaker 2: sixty eight, strawberries were included in the gardens of the 144 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:03,240 Speaker 2: At this time it was still the main palace of 145 00:09:03,280 --> 00:09:06,240 Speaker 2: the King of France, who is Charles the Fifth, and 146 00:09:06,320 --> 00:09:10,560 Speaker 2: at the King's request, royal gardener Jean Dudoit incorporated twelve 147 00:09:10,679 --> 00:09:14,960 Speaker 2: hundred strawberries into the garden's design. I bet that was 148 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:19,920 Speaker 2: so pretty, yeap. By the fourteen hundred, strawberries were being 149 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:23,760 Speaker 2: sold by street vendors in London, and by the fifteen hundreds, 150 00:09:23,800 --> 00:09:28,720 Speaker 2: another species Fugaria muscata, also known as the musk strawberry, 151 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:32,920 Speaker 2: had made its way into gardens as well. Strawberries were 152 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:37,160 Speaker 2: grown in other European countries in addition to England and France. 153 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:41,320 Speaker 2: Shakespeare's Richard the Third includes a mention of strawberries by 154 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:43,960 Speaker 2: the Duke of Gloucester, who described seeing them in the 155 00:09:43,960 --> 00:09:46,680 Speaker 2: garden of the Bishop of Ely and asks that the 156 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:50,400 Speaker 2: Bishop sent him some. By the time Shakespeare wrote that 157 00:09:50,440 --> 00:09:54,760 Speaker 2: play in fifteen ninety seven, strawberries had been extremely popular 158 00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:58,040 Speaker 2: in England for decades. King Henry the eighth was a 159 00:09:58,040 --> 00:10:01,880 Speaker 2: big fan. They were described does a medicinal remedy in 160 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:05,680 Speaker 2: the fifteen twenty sixth book The Great herbal and were 161 00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:09,080 Speaker 2: discussed at length in a fifteen thirty sixth book, The 162 00:10:09,160 --> 00:10:13,800 Speaker 2: Natcheri Usturpium Libri, which was written by a botanist named Druelius. 163 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 2: The strawberry had also been classified as a plant that 164 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:21,280 Speaker 2: was appropriate for women to cultivate in the fifteen fifty 165 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:25,920 Speaker 2: seven book Five hundred Points of Good Husbandry. By that 166 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:29,600 Speaker 2: point there was a clear division in writings between strawberries 167 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:34,360 Speaker 2: that were purposely grown versus strawberries that were naturally occurring, 168 00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:39,080 Speaker 2: and France had continued to embrace the strawberry into the 169 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:43,760 Speaker 2: sixteenth century. Henry the fourth of France's personal physician wrote 170 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:47,719 Speaker 2: about them in the fifteen sixties. Their cultivation was described 171 00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:51,439 Speaker 2: in detail in the fifteen seventy eight writing Le Criculture 172 00:10:51,520 --> 00:10:55,439 Speaker 2: re Maison rustique, written by Jean le Beau and Charles Etienne, 173 00:10:56,120 --> 00:10:59,160 Speaker 2: and in this book that duo recommended that fields should 174 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:02,760 Speaker 2: be planted with rawberries every third year as a way 175 00:11:02,800 --> 00:11:07,520 Speaker 2: to keep them fertile. Across the Atlantic, North America had 176 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:12,960 Speaker 2: its own native strawberry, the Fragaria virginiana or Virginia strawberry. 177 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:17,240 Speaker 2: Sometime in the seventeenth century, the Virginia strawberry made its 178 00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:21,200 Speaker 2: way to Europe. How that happened exactly is a little unclear, 179 00:11:21,679 --> 00:11:25,400 Speaker 2: but as Europe already loved strawberries, this new variety was 180 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:29,280 Speaker 2: embraced and it started to be actively cultivated and crossed 181 00:11:29,320 --> 00:11:34,320 Speaker 2: with others, creating more than two dozen new species, but 182 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:37,440 Speaker 2: these were still in terms of the fruit on the 183 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:38,240 Speaker 2: small side. 184 00:11:39,320 --> 00:11:43,680 Speaker 1: In seventeen fourteen, something happened that changed the strawberry forever. 185 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:47,640 Speaker 1: The short version is that a native Chilean species known 186 00:11:47,640 --> 00:11:51,320 Speaker 1: as Fragaria chiloensis made its way to Europe. But the 187 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:53,960 Speaker 1: story is much more interesting than that, and we're going 188 00:11:54,040 --> 00:11:56,760 Speaker 1: to talk about it after we pause for a sponsor break. 189 00:12:06,520 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 1: Fragaria chili insis is naturally a bit larger than the 190 00:12:10,080 --> 00:12:14,000 Speaker 1: strawberries that Europeans and North Americans were accustomed to in 191 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:17,800 Speaker 1: the early eighteenth century. It was more than likely cultivated 192 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:21,720 Speaker 1: by the mapuch and Huilich people for centuries before Europeans 193 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:26,480 Speaker 1: ever knew about it. When conquistador Francisco Pizarro's forces conquered 194 00:12:26,559 --> 00:12:29,640 Speaker 1: Chile in the mid sixteenth century, they took some of 195 00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:33,720 Speaker 1: these strawberries with them to Cuzco, Peru. There the fruit 196 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:37,880 Speaker 1: was written about by Garcelazzo de la Vega. His description 197 00:12:38,200 --> 00:12:40,400 Speaker 1: was of a heart shaped fruit that had seeds on 198 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:44,679 Speaker 1: the outside. Although it's clear that's talking about a strawberry. 199 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:47,400 Speaker 1: He called it by a name that we associate with 200 00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:52,080 Speaker 1: something very different. He called it the Chile. Other Europeans 201 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:55,040 Speaker 1: who traveled to Chile also made note of this fruit, 202 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:59,360 Speaker 1: comparing it to its European counterparts, but all was mentioning it, 203 00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:03,040 Speaker 1: mentioning that it had better flavor and was larger, some 204 00:13:03,120 --> 00:13:07,160 Speaker 1: comparing them to the size of large nuts. These Chilean 205 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:11,400 Speaker 1: strawberries are described as being different colors in different people's accounts, 206 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:15,640 Speaker 1: ranging from red to white, with basically every gradation in between. 207 00:13:16,400 --> 00:13:20,080 Speaker 1: But for some reason, no one writing these descriptions ever 208 00:13:20,160 --> 00:13:22,880 Speaker 1: thought to bring one back to Europe. 209 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:27,120 Speaker 2: These accounts, and particularly won by French priest Louis Foyer, 210 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:31,320 Speaker 2: got the attention of France's King Louis the fourteenth. He 211 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:36,200 Speaker 2: wanted to know more about this delicious berry, so he 212 00:13:36,320 --> 00:13:39,040 Speaker 2: found an engineer who could be sent to the Americas 213 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:43,520 Speaker 2: to assess the forces of the Spanish colonies there. Louis 214 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:46,960 Speaker 2: the fourteenths grandson, the Duke of Anjous, had become King 215 00:13:47,120 --> 00:13:50,880 Speaker 2: Philip the Fifth of Spain following the War of Spanish Succession, 216 00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:54,840 Speaker 2: so this spy work was more about making sure things 217 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:58,400 Speaker 2: were good and that Louis the Fourteenth's financial and political 218 00:13:58,440 --> 00:14:02,199 Speaker 2: backing of Philip the Fifth were worthwhile, as well as 219 00:14:02,280 --> 00:14:06,480 Speaker 2: ensuring that France understood the situation completely in case everything 220 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:10,840 Speaker 2: went sideways on the global stage. So even though Spain 221 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:13,840 Speaker 2: and France were allies at this time, this was still 222 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:18,560 Speaker 2: a secret mission. But the selected spy was also tasked 223 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:22,120 Speaker 2: with collecting information and samples of the plant life of 224 00:14:22,160 --> 00:14:26,280 Speaker 2: South America. Depending on the source you read, was possibly 225 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:30,240 Speaker 2: also keeping an eye out for the amazing strawberry that 226 00:14:30,400 --> 00:14:35,120 Speaker 2: Fuia and others had written about. Yes, there's not a 227 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:39,080 Speaker 2: clear line of evidence that says that that it was 228 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:43,520 Speaker 2: a straw was like, go get me some strawberries, but 229 00:14:43,680 --> 00:14:46,400 Speaker 2: it does seem like he was very intrigued by them, 230 00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:52,240 Speaker 2: and this person certainly does get some That spy that 231 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:54,840 Speaker 2: we're talking about was a thirty two year old lieutenant 232 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 2: colonel named Amade Flansois Flesier. Flesier was born in sixteen 233 00:15:00,320 --> 00:15:03,120 Speaker 2: two in Chamberry, Savoy, which is in the eastern part 234 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:08,160 Speaker 2: of France. It's about three hundred kilometers from the Swiss border. Initially, 235 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:11,400 Speaker 2: the path that Amade Francois was expected to follow in 236 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:14,280 Speaker 2: terms of education was one that was going to lead 237 00:15:14,360 --> 00:15:17,400 Speaker 2: him to the legal profession, which is what his father did. 238 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:21,200 Speaker 2: But Fresier was not interested in the law. He was 239 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:24,400 Speaker 2: interested in science, and he managed to convince his father 240 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,360 Speaker 2: that he should go to Paris to study that instead 241 00:15:27,360 --> 00:15:32,320 Speaker 2: of law. In his studies, he focused on navigation and astronomy, 242 00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:35,080 Speaker 2: and he wrote his thesis on the relationship. 243 00:15:34,440 --> 00:15:37,800 Speaker 1: Between the two. And when he had completed his education 244 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:40,560 Speaker 1: in Paris, he then spent time in Italy, where he 245 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:44,360 Speaker 1: also indulged his interest in architecture and art and studied 246 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:49,080 Speaker 1: those disciplines during his time there, but he didn't immediately 247 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:54,960 Speaker 1: translate his education into a strictly scientific vocation. In seventeen hundred, 248 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,680 Speaker 1: at the age of eighteen, Fresier joined the military, enlisting 249 00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:01,320 Speaker 1: with the Army of France, but he still did keep 250 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:04,960 Speaker 1: his scientific work going, really for no other reason than 251 00:16:04,960 --> 00:16:09,160 Speaker 1: to occupy himself. He had a lot of free time 252 00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:13,440 Speaker 1: in the infantry. He wrote a paper on pyrotechnics, including 253 00:16:13,520 --> 00:16:17,760 Speaker 1: instructions on the manufacture of fireworks. But this did actually 254 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:21,960 Speaker 1: advance his military career, as did mention the possible uses 255 00:16:22,000 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 1: of fireworks by the military. So this landed him a 256 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:30,240 Speaker 1: position as a military engineer. That position was part of 257 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:32,760 Speaker 1: the intelligence branch, and that's how he came to be 258 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:35,400 Speaker 1: the man for the job that Louis the fourteenth had 259 00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:40,520 Speaker 1: in mind. His varied knowledge of navigation, explosives, and science 260 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:44,200 Speaker 1: led to him being selected by his commanding officers as 261 00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:48,320 Speaker 1: the man they recommended. He sailed out on January seventh, 262 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:53,040 Speaker 1: seventeen twelve, when Frasier boarded the ship the Saint Joseph 263 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:55,960 Speaker 1: headed for South America. He knew that he would be 264 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:59,960 Speaker 1: undercover as he completed this mission. He arrived in Concepts, 265 00:17:00,520 --> 00:17:04,199 Speaker 1: Chile on June sixteenth, and he couldn't exactly hide, so 266 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:08,879 Speaker 1: instead he created an alternate backstory for himself and posed 267 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:12,679 Speaker 1: as a merchant trader. This persona made it possible for 268 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:15,560 Speaker 1: him to travel openly and to visit places under the 269 00:17:15,560 --> 00:17:20,880 Speaker 1: guise of mere curiosity instead of performing reconnaissance. For two 270 00:17:20,920 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 1: and a half years he toured Peru and Chile, feigning 271 00:17:24,520 --> 00:17:27,119 Speaker 1: to be a merchant and a tourist, all the while 272 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:32,080 Speaker 1: documenting the fortifications of the Spanish military. He made detailed 273 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:35,639 Speaker 1: maps of the Spanish colonial forts, with detailed accounts of 274 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:38,840 Speaker 1: their artillery and their weak points where an attack might 275 00:17:38,880 --> 00:17:42,800 Speaker 1: be mounted, as well as their potential roots of escape, 276 00:17:42,880 --> 00:17:46,480 Speaker 1: and accompanying those maps and accounts, he included information about 277 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:51,440 Speaker 1: the surrounding areas, such as the indigenous populations, the municipal governments, 278 00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:53,880 Speaker 1: religious practices of the locals, etc. 279 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:59,560 Speaker 2: These were cultivated strawberries in soil that Frazier described as 280 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:04,720 Speaker 2: quote extraordinarily fertile. He wrote of the location, quote there 281 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:08,320 Speaker 2: they plant whole fields with a sort of strawberry rushes 282 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:12,200 Speaker 2: differing from ours, and that the leaves are rounder, thicker, 283 00:18:12,240 --> 00:18:15,879 Speaker 2: and more downy. The fruit is generally as big as 284 00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:19,199 Speaker 2: a walnut, and sometimes as a hen's egg, of a 285 00:18:19,280 --> 00:18:23,520 Speaker 2: whitish red, and somewhat less delicious of taste than our 286 00:18:23,600 --> 00:18:27,640 Speaker 2: wood strawberries. Besides these, there is plenty in the woods 287 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:32,240 Speaker 2: of our European kind. Frasier also noted in the description 288 00:18:32,400 --> 00:18:34,840 Speaker 2: that he had collected some of these plants for the 289 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:38,919 Speaker 2: King's garden. He also included a life size drawing of 290 00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:42,600 Speaker 2: the strawberries. He described this drawing showed them full of fruit, 291 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:46,600 Speaker 2: but not showing the plant's flowers. When Frasier returned to 292 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:50,680 Speaker 2: France on August seventeenth, seventeen fourteen, he carried with him 293 00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,000 Speaker 2: five of the strawberry plants which he had cared for 294 00:18:54,040 --> 00:18:58,320 Speaker 2: on the voyage back across the Atlantic. This was no 295 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:02,399 Speaker 2: small feet. Listen, if you've ever transported plants, you know 296 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,119 Speaker 2: there are dangers, and in addition to all of the 297 00:19:06,240 --> 00:19:09,960 Speaker 2: jostling that a plant might meet at sea, water was 298 00:19:10,119 --> 00:19:13,439 Speaker 2: rationed on this trip, so prioritizing the plant's need for 299 00:19:13,520 --> 00:19:17,720 Speaker 2: it had required careful calculation in some assistance from a 300 00:19:17,760 --> 00:19:21,400 Speaker 2: crew member who will mention in just a moment. Fresier 301 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:24,199 Speaker 2: was honored by Louis the fourteenth for this work, with 302 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:27,160 Speaker 2: a cash reward for the many maps he returned with 303 00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:32,760 Speaker 2: and of course those strawberries. Amedi Fresier wrote a book 304 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:36,359 Speaker 2: about his travels titled Account of the Voyage from the 305 00:19:36,400 --> 00:19:39,480 Speaker 2: South Sea to the coasts of Chile, Peru, and Brazil, 306 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:43,880 Speaker 2: made during the years seventeen twelve, seventeen thirteen, and seventeen fourteen. 307 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:47,560 Speaker 2: Louis the fourteenth did not live long enough to see 308 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:51,440 Speaker 2: this published. He died on September first, seventeen fifteen, which 309 00:19:51,520 --> 00:19:53,760 Speaker 2: was the year before it was finished, so he really 310 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:56,359 Speaker 2: didn't get to see the full results of the spy 311 00:19:56,480 --> 00:19:59,680 Speaker 2: mission or the fruit that came from it. A lot 312 00:19:59,720 --> 00:20:03,080 Speaker 2: of people got to read about it, though, because Frasier's book, 313 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:06,600 Speaker 2: which corrected a number of map errors made by his 314 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:11,320 Speaker 2: predecessor Lui Flier, and caused an ongoing feud between those 315 00:20:11,359 --> 00:20:15,840 Speaker 2: two men that was translated into English, Dutch, and German. 316 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:20,320 Speaker 2: Monica Barnes, writing for the American Museum of Natural History 317 00:20:20,320 --> 00:20:23,800 Speaker 2: in two thousand and eight, noted of this popular text quote, 318 00:20:23,800 --> 00:20:28,960 Speaker 2: most of the information in Frasier's text is superficial, obviously biased, 319 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:32,840 Speaker 2: and available from other sources. However, during the second and 320 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:36,280 Speaker 2: third decades of the eighteenth century, there was little information 321 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:40,960 Speaker 2: on western South America available to readers outside the Spanish 322 00:20:41,040 --> 00:20:45,639 Speaker 2: speaking world. To a certain extent, Frasier filled that gap. 323 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:49,680 Speaker 2: The great strength of his work lies not in its narrative, 324 00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:52,640 Speaker 2: but in its many excellent illustrations. 325 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:57,280 Speaker 1: The illustrations are very good. So of those five plants 326 00:20:57,320 --> 00:20:59,520 Speaker 1: that we mentioned that he brought back, only one of 327 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:02,560 Speaker 1: them actually went to the king, or more specifically, to 328 00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:07,680 Speaker 1: the King's gardener in Paris, Antoine de Jusieux. Remember, strawberries 329 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:11,320 Speaker 1: readily reproduce and spread through runners, so that one plant 330 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:14,560 Speaker 1: led to many, and in addition to the King's plant, 331 00:21:14,720 --> 00:21:18,320 Speaker 1: Fresier kept one for himself, he gave one to his boss, 332 00:21:18,320 --> 00:21:22,040 Speaker 1: Monsieur Pelletier, and he gave two to a Monsieur Rux, 333 00:21:22,320 --> 00:21:24,640 Speaker 1: who had been in charge of cargo on the voyage 334 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:27,960 Speaker 1: to France and who had been very key to making 335 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:31,640 Speaker 1: sure the plants got water. But though all of these 336 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:35,639 Speaker 1: plants produced new plants through runners, what they weren't producing 337 00:21:36,240 --> 00:21:39,639 Speaker 1: was fruit, because, as it turned out, the Chilean strawberry 338 00:21:39,720 --> 00:21:42,720 Speaker 1: was a species that has male plants and female plants, 339 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:47,080 Speaker 1: as many strawberries are, and you need both of those 340 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:49,439 Speaker 1: to achieve pollination and produce fruit. 341 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:54,040 Speaker 2: It's long been presumed that Fresier, and wanting to bring 342 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:58,239 Speaker 2: the best plants back to France, naturally selected ones that 343 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 2: bore large fruit that meant they were all female. Although 344 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:06,240 Speaker 2: Jesu had shared the runners of the King's plant with 345 00:22:06,280 --> 00:22:10,320 Speaker 2: other gardeners both in France and abroad, they just couldn't 346 00:22:10,359 --> 00:22:14,600 Speaker 2: get them to produce any fruit, except occasionally very small, misshapen, 347 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 2: and incomplete ones. There were a lot of studies made 348 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:21,960 Speaker 2: of the plants, with details about their large flowers and 349 00:22:22,080 --> 00:22:25,720 Speaker 2: stout leaves, and all of this was recorded and analyzed, 350 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:29,600 Speaker 2: but there was just no fruit. One Dutch botanist called 351 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:33,200 Speaker 2: it the Chili strawberry without blooms or fruits in his notes. 352 00:22:34,200 --> 00:22:36,760 Speaker 2: They were taken to gardeners in England who tried to 353 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:41,520 Speaker 2: solve the puzzle. Some experimenters got really good at producing large, 354 00:22:41,680 --> 00:22:44,560 Speaker 2: healthy blooms, but that was all the success they could 355 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:48,160 Speaker 2: really achieve. By the seventeen forties, a lot of gardeners 356 00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:50,840 Speaker 2: had grown tired of trying to get something out of 357 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:54,080 Speaker 2: the Chilean plants, and in England they had fallen out 358 00:22:54,080 --> 00:22:54,560 Speaker 2: of favor. 359 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 1: But the strawberry was not abandoned by every hopeful horticulturist. 360 00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:03,199 Speaker 1: We'll talk about the breakthrough that offered some hope for 361 00:23:03,280 --> 00:23:06,960 Speaker 1: the almost mythical berries that Fresier had touted. After we 362 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:20,840 Speaker 1: paused for a sponsor break. In France, some gardeners were 363 00:23:21,040 --> 00:23:25,720 Speaker 1: managing to produce fruit from Fresier's plants, although not very many. 364 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:29,520 Speaker 1: There are notes of a Monsieur Denuete Greux, who reported 365 00:23:29,520 --> 00:23:32,200 Speaker 1: that he had managed to get some very large berries, 366 00:23:32,640 --> 00:23:36,080 Speaker 1: some with a circumference of seven point five inches, by 367 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:40,639 Speaker 1: crossing the Chilean plant with quote pollens from native berries. 368 00:23:41,920 --> 00:23:45,920 Speaker 1: Fifty years after Fresier's plants arrived in Europe, someone produced 369 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,639 Speaker 1: large fruit from a Chilean strawberry and presented a bowl 370 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:53,080 Speaker 1: of that fruit to King Louis the fifteenth on July sixth, 371 00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:57,399 Speaker 1: seventeen sixty four. That person was a teenager. He was 372 00:23:57,480 --> 00:24:01,399 Speaker 1: just seventeen, and his name was Antoine Kolas Dushane, and 373 00:24:01,520 --> 00:24:05,399 Speaker 1: he got his strawberries by crossing the Chilean strawberries with 374 00:24:05,640 --> 00:24:09,960 Speaker 1: musk strawberries. Dushane, who was in line to inherit the 375 00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:13,119 Speaker 1: job of superintendent of the King's buildings from his father, 376 00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:16,359 Speaker 1: had learned a great deal about botany from the younger 377 00:24:16,400 --> 00:24:19,720 Speaker 1: brother of the King's Paris gardener. That brother's name was 378 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:23,160 Speaker 1: Bernard de Jasieux, and Dushane was building on the work 379 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 1: of other gardeners and botanists, and because of this gift 380 00:24:27,560 --> 00:24:30,560 Speaker 1: to the King, he was given funding from the King 381 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:33,280 Speaker 1: to continue this work, and he used that funding to 382 00:24:33,359 --> 00:24:37,480 Speaker 1: produce what would become a foundational text on strawberry cultivation. 383 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:42,200 Speaker 1: He also, at the King's request, collected specimens of all 384 00:24:42,240 --> 00:24:44,960 Speaker 1: the known species of strawberry to be part of the 385 00:24:44,960 --> 00:24:46,199 Speaker 1: gardens at Versailles. 386 00:24:47,440 --> 00:24:51,320 Speaker 2: His revelation regarding the sex of the plants had come 387 00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:54,840 Speaker 2: on May twenty ninth, seventeen sixty four, when he had 388 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:58,439 Speaker 2: a Fragaria chiluensis sent to him from the Versailles garden. 389 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:03,000 Speaker 2: It had already bloomed and no berries were growing on it, 390 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:05,360 Speaker 2: and he was able to see that these flowers were 391 00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:09,600 Speaker 2: female without any male Chilean plants. He placed it near 392 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:13,280 Speaker 2: a male musk strawberry, which he had noticed had some 393 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:17,040 Speaker 2: similarities to the Chilean import and by June sixth, just 394 00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:21,000 Speaker 2: a week later, one of the receptacles had started to swell. 395 00:25:21,160 --> 00:25:24,680 Speaker 2: It had been pollinated. This was the experiment that led 396 00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:28,680 Speaker 2: to the berries that he presented to the King. Figuring 397 00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:32,800 Speaker 2: out the key to consistent strawberries and their fertility did 398 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:37,240 Speaker 2: not happen instantly, though. Those beautiful berries that the seventeen 399 00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:40,760 Speaker 2: year old Dushane brought to Versailles had not been able 400 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:44,160 Speaker 2: to reproduce. They didn't produce viable seeds. 401 00:25:45,280 --> 00:25:49,960 Speaker 1: Dushane dedicated himself to learning basically everything known about the 402 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:54,040 Speaker 1: strawberry and all of its varieties, as he also experimented 403 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:58,639 Speaker 1: with different iterations of cross pollination. He also consulted with 404 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:03,160 Speaker 1: well known scientists, including Linnaeus as he worked through his experiments, 405 00:26:03,560 --> 00:26:06,159 Speaker 1: both for advice and kind of as a sort of 406 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:11,320 Speaker 1: peer review of his observations. But even Linnaeus was unconvinced 407 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:14,879 Speaker 1: of this idea of separate male and female plants, and 408 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 1: he thought that perhaps Dushane had been observing strawberries that 409 00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:22,960 Speaker 1: were frostbitten or damaged in some other way. When Duchane 410 00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:26,040 Speaker 1: wrote his book about his work, he noted, quote no 411 00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:29,280 Speaker 1: one I believe suspected before me the separations of the 412 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:32,880 Speaker 1: sexes in the capiton. And through working with his own 413 00:26:32,920 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 1: experiments and the information he collected from other horticulturists, he 414 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:39,840 Speaker 1: was able to figure out that the greatest success in 415 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:45,040 Speaker 1: cross pollination happened when the female Chilean strawberries were combined 416 00:26:45,080 --> 00:26:50,520 Speaker 1: with male Virginia strawberries. Large fruit was the consistent result, 417 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:55,240 Speaker 1: and that resulting fruit bore seeds, and those seeds produced 418 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:59,600 Speaker 1: plants that could self pollinate. He had created a new 419 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:04,800 Speaker 1: species of strawberry, which he called Fragaria ananasa. So ananasa 420 00:27:04,880 --> 00:27:08,720 Speaker 1: is a reference to pineapples, because these resulting berries smelled 421 00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:13,320 Speaker 1: to dushane like pineapple, and the Fragaria ananasa is the 422 00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:15,080 Speaker 1: strawberry that we eat today. 423 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:19,400 Speaker 2: The success of the combination of the two North American 424 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:23,480 Speaker 2: strawberry species has led to the theory that these two 425 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:28,560 Speaker 2: species were possibly originally from the same species, likely one 426 00:27:28,560 --> 00:27:32,720 Speaker 2: that originated in Asia, and that these two lines developed 427 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:36,120 Speaker 2: in the separate climates of Chile and then farther north 428 00:27:36,160 --> 00:27:39,800 Speaker 2: in North America. If that's the case, the two plant 429 00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:43,480 Speaker 2: species went on a huge journey before being finally brought 430 00:27:43,560 --> 00:27:47,240 Speaker 2: back together in France. So if you speak French, you 431 00:27:47,320 --> 00:27:49,800 Speaker 2: may have been thinking throughout all of this that because 432 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:54,240 Speaker 2: of this extended spy mission, the word fres which means strawberry, 433 00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:57,199 Speaker 2: was applied to the beloved fruit as an honor to 434 00:27:57,240 --> 00:28:00,199 Speaker 2: the man who brought the Chilean samples back to the 435 00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:05,040 Speaker 2: French king. But in a hilarious twist, that is actually 436 00:28:05,119 --> 00:28:09,760 Speaker 2: the opposite of what happened. Fresier's family already had an 437 00:28:09,800 --> 00:28:13,639 Speaker 2: association with the strawberry going quite away's back, and the 438 00:28:13,720 --> 00:28:17,040 Speaker 2: name Fresier had been gifted to them by a previous 439 00:28:17,119 --> 00:28:20,240 Speaker 2: king of France. So this story goes all the way 440 00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:24,240 Speaker 2: back to the tenth century, when one of amide Frasier's ancestors, 441 00:28:24,359 --> 00:28:28,040 Speaker 2: Julius du Bery, which is hilarious that he was already 442 00:28:28,080 --> 00:28:31,879 Speaker 2: called Berry, served King Charles the Third strawberries at the 443 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,080 Speaker 2: end of a banquet as a gift. Not only was 444 00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:38,840 Speaker 2: the king delighted, but his Italian guest, Cardinal Clemens of 445 00:28:38,920 --> 00:28:42,840 Speaker 2: Monte Alto, was bowled over and described these berries as 446 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:46,240 Speaker 2: superior to any that could be found in Italy. So 447 00:28:46,440 --> 00:28:49,280 Speaker 2: in thanks for making France look very good with a 448 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:53,440 Speaker 2: foreign official, Charles the Third knighted Julius de Berry and 449 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:57,880 Speaker 2: bestowed the name fres Strawberry upon him, as well as 450 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:02,560 Speaker 2: giving the family coat of arms strawberry blossoms, and then 451 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:08,520 Speaker 2: over time Frez shifted to Fresier. So in terms of lore, 452 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:11,840 Speaker 2: it almost seems like Ami Day was destined to be 453 00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:17,000 Speaker 2: Louis the fourteenth Strawberry Guy. As for Fresier's life, host 454 00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:20,480 Speaker 2: strawberry retrieval. It was a full one. He went back 455 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:24,000 Speaker 2: across the Atlantic in seventeen nineteen, this time as chief 456 00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:28,080 Speaker 2: engineer at Santa Domingo in the Dominican Republic. He returned 457 00:29:28,080 --> 00:29:31,160 Speaker 2: to Europe and oversaw the building of a reported twenty 458 00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:35,280 Speaker 2: six defense structures. He got married and had a family, 459 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:39,240 Speaker 2: and he continued working, rising higher in his career until 460 00:29:39,240 --> 00:29:42,640 Speaker 2: he finally retired at the age of eighty two. But 461 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:45,680 Speaker 2: he continued to write and read a great deal and 462 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:48,720 Speaker 2: died in seventeen seventy three at the age of ninety one, 463 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:53,880 Speaker 2: having been celebrated for a wide variety of achievements. Yeah, 464 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:56,560 Speaker 2: he's one of those people that was pretty recognized as 465 00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:00,360 Speaker 2: like an icon and a sage. It is t time 466 00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:04,480 Speaker 2: he got to enjoy the benefit of his reputation while 467 00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:09,240 Speaker 2: he was still alive. Antoine Nicola Dushane continued to experiment 468 00:30:09,280 --> 00:30:12,800 Speaker 2: with strawberries and other plants and published a lot of 469 00:30:12,840 --> 00:30:16,160 Speaker 2: books about his work. He was able, for example, to 470 00:30:16,240 --> 00:30:20,360 Speaker 2: identify the optimal temperatures at which strawberries would produce, and 471 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:25,800 Speaker 2: eventually also developed a master diagram of the theoretical genealogical tree, 472 00:30:25,840 --> 00:30:29,320 Speaker 2: which included all of the known types of strawberries and 473 00:30:29,400 --> 00:30:32,960 Speaker 2: how he believed they developed from a single origin point. 474 00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:37,000 Speaker 2: When the French Revolution of seventeen eighty nine erupted, Duchane 475 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:40,600 Speaker 2: lost his post, and because he was so connected to 476 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:44,400 Speaker 2: the royal family, he was in real danger of being guillotined. 477 00:30:45,320 --> 00:30:48,440 Speaker 2: He did manage to ride out the conflict with his life, though, 478 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:51,240 Speaker 2: and he turned to teaching once things had settled down. 479 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:55,000 Speaker 2: But after that his life became sort of a series 480 00:30:55,080 --> 00:30:58,840 Speaker 2: of bad money management, sorrow at the loss of his 481 00:30:58,920 --> 00:31:04,000 Speaker 2: wife and daughter, ventually rapidly declining health. He died in 482 00:31:04,040 --> 00:31:07,440 Speaker 2: eighteen twenty seven after a series of strokes, just shy 483 00:31:07,560 --> 00:31:12,440 Speaker 2: of his eightieth Birthdayshane saw in his lifetime the benefit 484 00:31:12,560 --> 00:31:16,080 Speaker 2: of his work in strawberry breeding. Before he died, many 485 00:31:16,240 --> 00:31:20,040 Speaker 2: many gardeners throughout Europe were implementing the information he had 486 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:26,200 Speaker 2: developed to produce big, juicy, self fertile strawberry crops. Dishes 487 00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:30,640 Speaker 2: featuring strawberries became luxury items, with strawberries and cream being 488 00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:36,440 Speaker 2: especially popular. Doushane's legacy is still part of every supermarket 489 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:41,000 Speaker 2: strawberry we eat. The USDA estimates that ninety four percent 490 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:45,200 Speaker 2: of all US households consumed strawberries in some form each year, 491 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:49,600 Speaker 2: with each person eating an estimated four point eighty five 492 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:55,360 Speaker 2: pounds on average annually. The US produces three billion pounds 493 00:31:55,400 --> 00:31:58,200 Speaker 2: of strawberries each year at a rate of about six 494 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:03,120 Speaker 2: thousand pounds per acre. By the early twenty teens, strawberries 495 00:32:03,160 --> 00:32:06,160 Speaker 2: had become the third most important fruit crop for the 496 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:09,880 Speaker 2: US economy, following grapes and oranges. 497 00:32:11,320 --> 00:32:13,640 Speaker 1: And all because of Duchane and fresier. 498 00:32:14,960 --> 00:32:16,800 Speaker 2: Do you have some listener mail for us? 499 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:19,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, I surely do. This is from our listener Katie, 500 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:23,400 Speaker 1: who writes, Hi, Holly and Tracy, I really enjoyed your 501 00:32:23,440 --> 00:32:28,240 Speaker 1: recent episode on the children's morality code. My kid's elementary 502 00:32:28,280 --> 00:32:31,600 Speaker 1: school has used a program called Character Strong for the 503 00:32:31,680 --> 00:32:35,040 Speaker 1: last several years. I saw some of the lessons when 504 00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:39,400 Speaker 1: school was over zoom. I definitely saw some echoes of 505 00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:42,800 Speaker 1: this old morality code in them. There was one that 506 00:32:42,920 --> 00:32:45,960 Speaker 1: was about determination, if I remember correctly, That featured a 507 00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:50,320 Speaker 1: video celebrating a disabled girl running along race even though 508 00:32:50,360 --> 00:32:54,400 Speaker 1: she was unable to walk. Afterwards, being reminded of the 509 00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:57,640 Speaker 1: program made me curious, so I checked out their website. 510 00:32:57,920 --> 00:33:00,600 Speaker 1: It doesn't have many particulars about the program, but it 511 00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:04,840 Speaker 1: does have this in the description quote explicit direct skill 512 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:09,400 Speaker 1: instruction designed to lead to three powerful outcomes. Be strong, 513 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:13,880 Speaker 1: be kind, be well. Yikes, I've sent you all pictures 514 00:33:13,880 --> 00:33:15,760 Speaker 1: of our pets before, so I thought i'd mix it 515 00:33:15,840 --> 00:33:19,120 Speaker 1: up and send a recent quilting project. I'm still a novice, 516 00:33:19,160 --> 00:33:21,920 Speaker 1: but I've made a lot of progress and an Abert's 517 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:24,840 Speaker 1: squirrel eating fallen bird seed. Thanks for all the work 518 00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:28,000 Speaker 1: you do and throwing in some lighter episodes during all 519 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:31,240 Speaker 1: of this. You may be a novice, but this quilting 520 00:33:31,320 --> 00:33:35,920 Speaker 1: is beautiful. It's a really beautiful kind of green and 521 00:33:35,960 --> 00:33:40,440 Speaker 1: cream with accents of peach and pink florals on it. 522 00:33:40,440 --> 00:33:43,960 Speaker 1: It's absolutely gorgeous. And I always love a squirrel picture. 523 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:46,360 Speaker 1: We have squirrel friends to visit our deck all the time. 524 00:33:47,000 --> 00:33:48,840 Speaker 1: I just put out food for them too. We keep 525 00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:51,800 Speaker 1: everybody fat and happy on our deck. But Katie, thanks 526 00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:57,360 Speaker 1: for this. Terrifying to know that we're still doing that garbage. 527 00:33:57,760 --> 00:34:00,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, like we said in the behind the scenes, 528 00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:05,200 Speaker 2: I totally get teaching kids about things like honesty. 529 00:34:06,280 --> 00:34:10,440 Speaker 1: Yes, and like strength of character great. Yeah, but the 530 00:34:10,560 --> 00:34:14,440 Speaker 1: idea of like you have to push beyond your physical 531 00:34:14,480 --> 00:34:17,799 Speaker 1: limits to a point that seems dangerous, where you are 532 00:34:17,920 --> 00:34:23,680 Speaker 1: unable to function. That's not strength, that's that's dangerous. 533 00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:28,279 Speaker 2: The idea of associating morals with being. 534 00:34:28,440 --> 00:34:32,600 Speaker 1: Well, right, you'll be less disabled if you're stronger is 535 00:34:32,760 --> 00:34:38,200 Speaker 1: messed up. Uh huh, super messed up. I hope somebody 536 00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:44,280 Speaker 1: is reviewing that and realizing how woefully bad it is. Listen, 537 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:49,440 Speaker 1: teach kids to be kind, take care of themselves and 538 00:34:49,480 --> 00:34:52,840 Speaker 1: one another. So good you don't you don't have to 539 00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:57,040 Speaker 1: do any of the other moralizing about what it is 540 00:34:57,080 --> 00:35:00,960 Speaker 1: to be a stronger. I hate all that. Yes, it 541 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:03,239 Speaker 1: gives me the ick. 542 00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:05,719 Speaker 2: Really, I'm reminded of the person who sent us a 543 00:35:05,800 --> 00:35:09,200 Speaker 2: letter whose two family rules were don't hit and hold 544 00:35:09,239 --> 00:35:13,960 Speaker 2: hands in the parking lot, which they had as an 545 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:17,000 Speaker 2: adult sort of re envisioned as be kind to one 546 00:35:17,040 --> 00:35:18,840 Speaker 2: another and look out for each other. 547 00:35:20,160 --> 00:35:26,120 Speaker 1: That's very funny. You are reminding me of many moons ago. 548 00:35:26,400 --> 00:35:29,680 Speaker 1: I used to manage a hair salon and one of 549 00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:35,040 Speaker 1: our clients had two boys and they did the thing. 550 00:35:35,080 --> 00:35:39,439 Speaker 1: I've heard of other families doing this, but this mom 551 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:42,560 Speaker 1: made these two boys do this in public ones and 552 00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:44,919 Speaker 1: it tickled me. And I don't know if anyone would 553 00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:49,080 Speaker 1: think it was terribly cruel, but they were fighting real bad, okay, 554 00:35:49,200 --> 00:35:52,680 Speaker 1: in public, and so she had a giant shirt that 555 00:35:52,760 --> 00:35:53,800 Speaker 1: she made them wear together. 556 00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:58,359 Speaker 2: I think I've heard of this, the giant shirt story. 557 00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:03,319 Speaker 1: She's not the only one. She stuck out to me 558 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:08,600 Speaker 1: because of some prominence in terms of being connected to 559 00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:13,239 Speaker 1: a professional athlete. But you know, what was one of 560 00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:16,040 Speaker 1: those things where it just I understand the logic of it. 561 00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:18,480 Speaker 1: I'm not a parent. I don't know what works for 562 00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:21,200 Speaker 1: any given family, but the logic, right is, of course, 563 00:36:21,239 --> 00:36:23,759 Speaker 1: if you have to be in that close proximity, you 564 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:29,160 Speaker 1: cannot be physically fighting or you will just both fall down. Yeah. Yeah, 565 00:36:29,200 --> 00:36:31,759 Speaker 1: there's a whole restraint discussion to be had there, but 566 00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:35,640 Speaker 1: I get it. Listen, the rules of how people teach 567 00:36:35,719 --> 00:36:42,920 Speaker 1: kids are constantly changing. Yeah. In any case, Yeah, just 568 00:36:43,239 --> 00:36:45,480 Speaker 1: be kind to one another, be kind of look out 569 00:36:45,480 --> 00:36:48,080 Speaker 1: for each other. If you would like to write to 570 00:36:48,160 --> 00:36:49,759 Speaker 1: us to tell us whether or not you had to 571 00:36:49,760 --> 00:36:51,680 Speaker 1: share a shirt with a sibling when you fought, or 572 00:36:51,719 --> 00:36:54,680 Speaker 1: anything else, you can do that at History Podcast at 573 00:36:54,719 --> 00:36:58,200 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio dot com, and you can subscribe to the podcast 574 00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:01,200 Speaker 1: Easiest Pie on the iHeart Radio app, or anywhere you 575 00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:04,719 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows. 576 00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:11,760 Speaker 2: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 577 00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:16,719 Speaker 2: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 578 00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:18,840 Speaker 2: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.