IIRC the potatoe came from south america (peru?), where it was shipped back to europe around the late 1500s.
Why did it take so long for britain to domesticate it, if it was such a good source of nutrition/yield and so adaptable to various soils and environments?
All wiki says is that farmers were 'distrustful', but there's no real context given. Did the agricultural revolution have something to do with it (possibly some kind of prerequisite)?
Expanding on the question (because I'm impatient) how did it survive in ports? Did people just have potatoe gardens to sell to sailors (and sailors got used to the unique food)? Is there other historical background associating potatoe cuisine with ports?
Do you mean adopt rather than domesticate? Because the potato was fully domesticated by South American peoples prior to it being introduced to Europeans.