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The Spread of Crops in Afroeurasia Before 1450

How rice reached Spain

Bram Hubbell
Bram Hubbell
— 2 min read
The Spread of Crops in Afroeurasia Before 1450
From page 62 of the AP World History Course and Exam Description.
From page 62 of the AP World History Course and Exam Description.

If you’ve ever wondered why the Spanish word for rice (arroz) begins with an ’A’, while rice in other Romance languages starts with an ’R’, it has to do with the transmission of crops in Afroeurasia. Arab Muslims who settled in the Iberian Peninsula introduced rice cultivation. Rice in classical Arabic is ar-ruzz, which became arroz in Spanish.

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