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| The history and Origin of the
Olive Tree (Olive Oil) |
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The origin of the olive tree is lost
in time, coinciding and mingling
with the expansion of the
Mediterranean civilisations, which
for centuries governed the destiny
of mankind and left their imprint on
Western culture.
In the 16th century BC the
Phoenicians started disseminating
the olive throughout the Greek
isles, later introducing it to the
Greek mainland between the 14th and
12th centuries BC, where its
cultivation increased and gained
great importance in the 4th century
BC, when Solon issued decrees
regulating olive planting.
The wild olive tree originated in
Anatolia where it is extremely
abundant and grows in thick forests.
It appears to have spread from Syria
to Greece via Anatolia (De Candolle,
1883) although other hypotheses
point to lower Egypt, Nubia,
Ethiopia, the Atlas Mountains or
certain areas of Europe as its
source area. Caruso for that reason
believed it to be indigenous to the
entire Mediterranean Basin and
considers Anatolia to have been the
birthplace of the cultivated olive
some six millennia ago. The
Assyrians and Babylonians were the
only ancient civilisations in the
area who were not familiar with the
olive tree.
Taking the area that extends from
the southern Caucasus to the Iranian
plateau and the Mediterranean coasts
of Syria and Palestine (Acerbo) to
be the original home of the olive
tree, its cultivation developed
considerably in these last two
regions, spreading from there to the
island of Cyprus and on towards
Anatolia or from the island of Crete
towards Egypt.
From the 6th century BC onwards, the
olive spread throughout the
Mediterranean countries reaching
Tripoli, Tunis and the island of
Sicily. From there, it moved to
southern Italy. Presto, however,
maintained that the olive tree in
Italy dates back to three centuries
before the fall of Troy (1200 BC).
Another Roman annalist (Penestrello)
defends the traditional view that
the first olive tree was brought to
Italy during the reign of Lucius
Tarquinius Priscus the Elder (616 -
578 BC), possibly from Tripoli or
Gabes (Tunisia). Cultivation moved
upwards from south to north, from
Calabria to Liguria. When the Romans
arrived in North Africa, the Berbers
knew how to graft wild olives and
had really developed its cultivation
throughout the territories they
occupied.
The Romans continued the expansion
of the olive tree to the countries
bordering the Mediterranean, using
it as a peaceful weapon in their
conquests to settle the people. It
was introduced in Marseilles around
600 BC and spread from there to the
whole of Gaul. The olive tree made
its appearance in Sardinia in Roman
times, while in Corsica it is said
to have been brought by the Genoese
after the fall of the Roman Empire.
Olive growing was introduced into
Spain during the maritime domination
of the Phoenicians (1050 BC) but did
not develop to a noteworthy extent
until the arrival of Scipio (212 BC)
and Roman rule (45 BC). After the
third Punic War, olives occupied a
large stretch of the Baetica valley
and spread towards the central and
Mediterranean coastal areas of the
Iberian Penisula including Portugal.
The Arabs brought their varieties
with them to the south of Spain and
influenced the spread of cultivation
so much that the Spanish words for
olive (aceituna), oil (aceite), and
wild olive tree (acebuche) and the
Portuguese words for olive (azeitona)
and for olive oil (azeite), have
Arabic roots.
With the discovery of America (1492)
olive farming spread beyond its
Mediterranean confines. The first
olive trees were carried from
Seville to the West Indies and later
to the American Continent. By 1560
olive groves were being cultivated
in Mexico, then later in Peru,
California, Chile and Argentina,
where one of the plants brought over
during the Conquest - the old Arauco
olive tree - lives to this day.
In more modern times the olive tree
has continued to spread outside the
Mediterranean and today is farmed in
places as far removed from its
origins as southern Africa,
Australia, Japan and China. As
Duhamel said, "the Mediterranean
ends where the olive tree no longer
grows", which can be capped by
saying that "There where the sun
permits, the olive tree takes root
and gains ground".
Olea europaea is a small evergreen
tree, averaging five meters in
height and among the longest living
trees. The tree matures between 50
and 100 years and many live over a
thousand years. One reason for this
longevity may be the existence of
numerous new roots growing from buds
in the lower part of the trunk.
Olive tree bears small, fragrant,
creamy white flowers in May and has
characteristic leaves: pale green
above and silvery below. Originating
from the Mesopotamia, it was spread
by the Phoenicians and grows almost
exclusively around the
Mediterranean. It is found in
calcareous hilly terrain and is
quite resistant to dryness and to
infertile soils.
The olive fruit starts maturing in
October when it may be harvested for
use in condiments (green olive). It
blackens until December when it
becomes richest in the precious oil.
Cultivating olives takes time as the
first crop is expected after eight
to ten years.
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