Why does a familiar bird and favorite Thanksgiving day meal have the same name as the country of Turkey? What is the name for the turkey in other languages? Is there any link between the spread of turkeys into the Anglophone world and the Ottoman Empire? In this episode, we answer these questions and discuss more broadly the historical context within which the turkey and other foods such as potatoes and corn became part of global diets.
MP3 File
Chris Gratien is a PhD candidate studying the history of the modern Middle East at Georgetown University (see academia.edu)
Citation: "Turkey: a Bird and a Country," Chris Gratien, Ottoman History Podcast, No. 80 (November 20, 2012) http://www.ottomanhistorypodcast.com/2012/11/turkey-bird-history-thanksgiving-america.html
Select Bibliography
List of names for the Turkey in other languages
Smith, Andrew F. The Turkey: An American Story. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2006.
Crosby, Alfred W. The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press, 1972.
Hobhouse, Henry. Seeds of Change: Six Plants That Transformed Mankind. [Washington, D.C.]: Shoemaker & Hoard, 2005.
can you post a link to the full picture? would love to see who is fighting over the fez-wearing turkey : )
ReplyDeletegood eye, it's actually a great political cartoon about the ottomans being caught in between russian and british empires: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2011661439/
ReplyDeleteI've often wondered about this too, great to find out more! I do have a small correction: the Dutch word 'kalkoen', to my knowledge, derives from Calicut, not Calcutta, which wasn't founded until 1690. Still in India therefore, so the line of argument stop the same. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDelete*stays
Deleteبارك الله فيكم
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