The history of food is one of the fastest growing areas of historical investigation, incorporating methods and theories from cultural, social, and women's history while forging a unique perspective on the past. The Routledge History of Food takes a global approach to this topic, focusing on the period from 1500 to the present day. Examining the history of economic, technological, and cultural interactions between cultures and charting the corresponding developments in food history, The Routledge History of Food challenges readers' assumptions about what and how people have eaten, bringing fresh perspectives to well-known historical developments. It is the perfect guide for all students of social and cultural history.

Introduction. 1500-1700 1. The Magic of Japanese Rice Cakes 2. Food Production, Consumption and Identity Politics in Tahuantinsuyu and Colonial Perú 3. Stimulants and Intoxicants in Europe, 1500-17004. Science, Food and Health in Chos¿n Korea1700-1900 5. Food Shortage in New Spain: Maize, Food Policies and the Construction of a Patriotic Identity, 1785-18076. "If the King had really been a father to us": Failed Food Diplomacy in Eighteenth-Century Sierra Leone 7. Stolen Bodies, Edible Memories: The Influence and Function of West African Foodways in the Early British Atlantic8. Spreading the Word: Using Cookbooks and Colonial Memoirs to Examine the Foodways of British Colonials in Asia, 1850-19009. The Globalization of Alcohol and Temperance from the Gin Craze to Prohibition10. "Peace on earth among the orders of creation": Vegetarian Ethics in the United States Before World War I 11. Food, Medicine and Institutional Life in the British Isles, c.1790-1900 12. Industrializing Diet, Industrializing Ourselves: Technology, Energy, and Food, 1750-20001990-present 13. The Evolution of a Fast Food Phenomenon: The Case of American Pizza14. Cooking Class: The Rise of the "Foodie" and the Role of Mass Media15. Tourism, Cuisine, and the Consumption of Culture in the Caribbean16. Food and Migration in the Twentieth Century17. Quick Rice: International Development and the Green Revolution in Sierra Leone, 1960-1976