Pineapples

The word ‘pineapple’ first appears in the English language in 1664 but the fruit is known throughout the world as ‘ananas’.

Pineapples were first cultivated in South America by the Tupi-Guarani Indians, and the plant originated in the Paraná–Paraguay River drainages between southern Brazil and Paraguay. The Mayas and Aztecs in Mexico were also known to cultivate pineapples, with evidence of their use dating back to 750 BC

The introduction of the pineapple plant to Europe in the 17th century made it a significant cultural icon of luxury. Since the 1820s, pineapple has been commercially grown in greenhouses and many tropical plantations.

Ordinary yellow pineapples were once so precious they were rented for display at dinner parties, but centuries of innovation have made them commonplace

They were also famously difficult to transport from the colonies without spoiling, therefore due to their rarity, they became insanely popular and a status symbol in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Costa Rica, the Philippines, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United States. Costa Rica is the largest exporter, followed by the Philippines, according to Tendata.

Costa Rica: Leads the world in pineapple exports, with a significant share of the global market.

Philippines: A major exporter, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region.
Netherlands: A significant re-exporter, importing pineapples from other countries and then exporting them to various markets.
Belgium: Another major exporter, particularly to European markets.
United States: A significant exporter, primarily to domestic markets and some international destinations.

1. Costa Rica:
US$1 billion (47.1% of total exports)

2. Philippines:
$333 million (15.1%)

3. Netherlands:
$134.3 million (6.1%)

4. Belgium:
$117 million (5.3%)

5. United States:
$108.4 million (4.9%)

The Guarani Indians, who called it "nana" meaning "excellent fruit", carried the plant north, and Christopher Columbus encountered it on the island of Guadeloupe the Caribbean in 1493. He brought it back to Europe, marking its introduction to the European continent. The pineapple then spread globally, including to Costa Rica, where it thrives in the tropical climate and rich soils.

Ananas comosus

The pineapple still grows today in its original habitat, the tropical forests of what is now Paraguay and southern Brazil. The wild type is small and full of seeds, but that did not prevent the local Tupi-Guarani peoples from domesticating it, starting around 6,000 years ago

‘Ananas’ derives from ‘excellent fruit’ in Guaraní, the language of the indigenous population of Paraguay, where the fruit originates. Indigenous people cultivated the pineapple across the Caribbean, Central and Southern America. The word ‘pineapple’ first appears in English in 1664. Christopher Columbus did not ‘discover’ the pineapple in 1496, but he is responsible for the European veneration of the fruit that followed.

The only pineapple to survive transportation to Europe in the 1490s was received by King Ferdinand II of Aragon (now part of Spain). Philip the Martyr (who tutored the King’s many children) recorded this description: ‘It is like a pine nut in form and colour, covered with scales, and firmer than a melon. Its flavour excels all other fruits’.

The Portuguese and Spanish, with their extensive colonial empires, played a key role in spreading the pineapple to other parts of the world. They transported the fruit from its native regions (like Brazil, Paraguay, and the Caribbean) to other tropical areas, including Africa and Asia. The pineapple's association with wealth and the "New World" led to its frequent depiction in art and literature, and it became a popular item in European gardens and on dinner tables.
Transporting pineapples across long distances presented challenges, as they were perishable and required careful handling to prevent spoilage. Over time, the pineapple became established in various parts of the world, leading to the development of pineapple plantations and an international trade in the fruit.

The pineapple has acquired various symbolic meanings in different cultures, representing hospitality, welcomeness, and even political commentary.
Today, the pineapple is a global commodity, with significant production and trade in various regions, including the Philippines, Taiwan, and other tropical countries.

Burns

The ‘rich ananas’ Burns describes refers to more than the taste and texture of the fruit – its golden colour, its gem-like gleam and the parallels drawn between its leafy top and royal crowns transformed a food of regular consumption of the indigenous populations into a luxury item, symbolising wealth, prosperity, and power in Europe. Indeed, the challenges of transporting pineapples in the sixteenth century, and the cost of cultivating them (approximately £7,000 in modern money) throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries meant that it was considered wasteful to actually eat a pineapple in Europe.

Royalty

The royal association with pineapples as artistic ornaments and table decorations is emphasised by the absence of any such motifs in art and architecture dating to the Cromwellian period.

Oliver Cromwell had defeated Charles I and arranged his beheading while Charles II was exiled in Continental Europe. Charles II nicknamed the pineapple ‘King Pine’ and commissioned a painting of himself being presented with a pineapple by his gardener John Rose in the 1670s. This was heavily significant, especially following his long exile and the Protectorate of Cromwell. Representing his divine right to rule, Charles also used the fruit to dominate international negotiations.

In 1668, Charles ordered a pineapple from Barbados to be put atop a fruit pyramid during a tense visit of the French Ambassador. The island known to the indigenous population as Liamuiga, had been renamed Saint Christopher Island (Saint Kitts) and partitioned by the French and English colonists, who repeatedly fought over land for sugar-plantations worked by enslaved peoples. The island is now the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Charles II presented a pineapple as the central feature of the negotiation table to intimidate the French Ambassador. Pineapples, colonial racism, and political satire are brought together in an eighteenth-century jug recovered from The Blair Street Underground Vaults

The green porcelain jug is on display within the larger glass case, set into an old fireplace within the historic fabric of the tenement that is now the reception. Believed to depict a satirical statement about the Hanoverian monarchy of the late-eighteenth century, the spikey top and curved body of a pineapple can be seen positioned in a bowl between the satirical characters.

Dunmore Scotland

In the 20th century, advancements in transportation, refrigeration, and canning techniques led to the development of large-scale pineapple plantations, with Costa Rica becoming a leading producer, according to Works in Progress Magazine.

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