Glossary · Term

Peanut

Also known as peanuts

The peanut is a legume native to South America that spread worldwide after the Columbian exchange. Along with other New World crops such as maize and sweet potatoes, it was adopted in Qing China, where it could be grown on marginal land. These crops helped support the Qing Empire's dramatic population growth in the eighteenth century.

Peanut
Image: Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 profile

Qing EmpireSocioeconomy

Mentioned in 1 state history

Tanganyika Territory

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Peanut. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/peanut
MLA
“Peanut.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/peanut. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Peanut.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/peanut.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Peanut’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/peanut (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻