Rachel Ilg, Ralph Dweck, Eon Goldson, Kimberly Fung, Maria Enache
The urban market of the early nineteenth century was far from idle. In fact, from 1790 to 1860, markets in New York filled daily with local residents and wholesale buyers from New York and beyond. While most markets did not relocate, more markets opened as Manhattan expanded northward and the population grew.
This chapter examines the marketplace in detail. The discourse explores production of grains, meat, seafood, produce (fruits and vegetables), and beverages, and their respective markets. In collecting information, researchers accessed maps as well as primary and secondary analyses, and non-fiction narratives. The chapter represents a synthesis of research focused on the five individual food types.
While technology was still developing during this era, some advances changed the urban market drastically. As transportation allowed shipment of grains from more distant areas, the growth of produce began to dominate the fields close to Manhattan. This occurred because technology had only advanced enough to foster cheap shipping of lighter goods, but not yet produce.
Class distinctions and policy changed the urban marketplace perhaps more than anything. During the temperance movement, alcohol sales decreased. However, before this the rich drank champagne and the poor, lager beer. This does not mark the only instance in which social dynamics affected the marketplace. In the early nineteenth century, social status determined where and what one ate, from seafood, to shellfish, to meat.
Food production during this era provides several possible implications for processes going forward. For one, we see that a lack of technological and infrastructural advancements led to issues with disease and logistics of shipping food. This provides insight into what resources are required to sustain a successful growing city, and which can be developed gradually in congruence with growing markets. The events of this era can also be examined as precursors to problems that arose later on, such as overharvesting of oysters or the weaknesses of prohibition.
