Overview

Descriptions of the flamboyant pineapple -Ananas comosus (L.) Merr- had featured in the records of Europeans from their very first experiences in the New World.¹ The incomparable aroma and flavour of this American fruit impressed voyagers, missionaries, and sailors alike. From the islands of Central America, to continental South America and along the Brazilian Atlantic coast, voyagers and chroniclers extolled the virtues of fresh pineapple. However, it was slow in reaching Europe as pineapples would rot during the lengthy ocean crossings. Therefore, this flavoursome fruit would only make it to the Old World in the form of a conserve, which was recognised for both its undeniable sweetness and its therapeutic qualities.² In contrast, missionaries and navigators were much more successful in transferring the species to other tropical and subtropical lands, where it quickly became naturalised. From Brazil, A. comosus spread to the coast of Africa, to India, the Mughal Empire and China. In all these lands, the pineapple found the conditions it needed to thrive and was particularly enjoyed when eaten fresh.

The major exception to this rule was the Philippines. When the pineapple was taken to the Philippines by the Spanish, it did not find the agroecological conditions it needed to produce fruit of a quality comparable to that of the Americas. However, as ^{Montinola (1991, p. 12)} writes: “when pineapple grew successfully [in the Philippines], the natives, who were already skilled in weaving fabrics from such plants as cotton, abaca, Palma and plantains, were predisposed to consider it as another source of fibre”. Missionaries and settlers, who had quickly noticed the Filipinos’ skill when working with abaca (Musa textilis Née), cotton (Gossypium L.), and coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) fibres, encouraged the introduction and cultivation of fibrous pineapple varieties in the region, such as the one today known as Red Spanish.

In just a few decades, the use of pineapple threads, skilfully extracted from the leaves of A. comosus and then spun and woven by indigenous women, would become one of the region’s most important handicrafts. By the seventeenth century, shawls, pañuelos and other fine “piña” embroidery would be in great demand amongst the elites of the New World.³ Over the centuries, the use of garments made from pineapple fibres would take on an important symbolic and political role in the archipelago. In more recent times, the future of this tradition has been thrown into doubt due to the high production costs for farmers, the significant environmental impacts of its cultivation and the labour-intensive nature of the weaving and embroidery work. Currently, new applications for products manufactured using pineapple fibres and new uses for the waste generated by pineapple cultivation are reviving the importance of this age-old skill.

The present essay is based on analysis of voyagers’ letters, chronicles, natural histories, missionary correspondence, and reports by royal agents. It is divided into three sections: the first analyses the biological origins of A. comosus and the long process of domestication that this species underwent at the hands of the indigenous peoples; the second reveals the impact that this extraordinary fruit’s appearance and flavour had on the first European voyagers and explorers and describes the long ocean crossings that the species made from its centre of origin and diversity to the different lands the Iberians had contacted. The final part analyses the arrival of the pineapple in the Philippines and how new ways of exploiting the pineapple were developed in the archipelago. The article ends by illustrating how these novel ways of exploiting pineapples have impacted on Philippine producers and artisans of today. This approach allows us to uncover the past, but also envision a promising future for local populations, through the sustainable use of the species.

Ananas comosus: origin, use, and diffusion

Over the last few decades, there has been a significant increase in research into where plants were first domesticated and cultivated.⁴ Until recently, studies on plant domestication and the identification of their respective centres of origin had been based on the analysis of seed-bearing species. However, new analysis methodologies, particularly in research on phytoliths and genetic mapping, have made it possible to study other plant species and provide new data which cast doubt over previous evidence regarding the beginnings of agricultural activity.

Alongside the Congo Basin and the Fertile Crescent, the Amazon region is today believed to have been one of the cradles of agriculture.⁵ The numerous ceramics remains (c.7000 BC), evidence of significant anthropogenic impact on soils and topographical changes in the vast lands of Brazil suggest that cultivation had begun millennia before contact with Europeans was made. Recent studies indicate that when the ships from the Old World first arrived, the indigenous peoples were using about 138 plant species. Of particular interest to the recently landed voyagers were cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), capsicums (Capsicum spp.), sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.), corn (Zea mays L.), and pineapples, amongst others (^{Coppens d’Eeckenbrugge and Duval, 2009}).

Throughout the sixteenth century, many plants of the Americas were taken to other tropical areas.⁶ The adaptability of the pineapple allowed it to acclimatise to the conditions of several tropical and subtropical regions. In this way, A. comosus branched out from its home in the interior region of Brazil-Paraguay and underwent, like many other plants, a long and singular process of domestication.⁷ Indeed, the indigenous populations’ own interest in A. comosus explains why the pineapple had already made the long journey from the Amazon basin to the faraway coastal areas of Brazil and the Caribbean by the time the first Europeans had arrived there. In fact, the Carib peoples had brought this fruit to the region in around 200 BC and it was grown widely there.⁸ This delicious and aromatic fruit, which Columbus’ crew came across in the Caribbean and members of the Magellan-Elcano fleet tasted in Brazil (as related by Antonio Pigafetta), was therefore the result of a long domestication process conducted by the indigenous peoples.⁹ Therefore, we can conclude that this species had long accompanied the indigenous peoples on their migrations and was valued for its aroma, the sweetness of its pulp, its nutritional value, its potential as a textile and its medicinal properties.¹⁰

Europe meets the pineapple

Transferring the pineapple to Europe would require learning what techniques were needed for its successful cultivation. The first written reference to the pineapple had been provided by Michele da Cuneo (1448-1503). Hailing from Savona in Italy, da Cuneo was part of the “crew” who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second Atlantic crossing.¹¹ In a letter addressed to a friend (24 October, 1495) he describes his visit to the island of Santa María de Guadalupe.¹² Among the list of fruits in his letter is the first reference to the pineapple.¹³ According to Peter Martyr d’Anghiera (1457-1526), a Milanese scholar serving in the Castilian court,¹⁴ one of the few fresh pineapples that made it to Seville was taken to the Royal Court for the appreciation of King Fernando II of Aragão. He wrote: “This fruit, which the king prefers to all others, does not grow upon a tree but upon a plant, similar to an artichoke or an acanthus” (^{Martyr d’Angleria, 1912 [1516]}).

Years later, Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo (1478-1557), one of the most distinguished chroniclers of the West Indies, described the extraordinary sensory attributes of this fruit, which he named “piña” due to its resemblance to the pine cone.¹⁵ Oviedo was author of Sumario de la Natural Historia de las Indias (1526) and of the Historia General de las Indias (1535). Widely known as the “Pliny of the Indies”, he devoted much of his work to describing the natural riches of the “Indias, islas y tierra-firme”.¹⁶ Oviedo was a keen observer of the American peoples, landscape, fauna and flora. He referred to three varieties of pineapples which were prized by the indigenous populations. The different qualities and morphologies of A. comosus that he identified in the yayama, boniama and yayagua varieties reflected the features most valued by the different indigenous populations.¹⁷

The Spanish settlers had a particular liking for the yayama variety and attempted to send fresh pineapples of this variety back to the Kingdom on several occasions. However, by the time it arrived in Europe, it was no longer edible. Realising that they would rot during the journey and, if they were cut while still unripe, would lose all their flavour, ^{Oviedo (2007 [1535])} suggested that their crowns be rooted in the soil of the Indies and then transferred, after three or four months, to the soil of Andalusia where, like corn, they might grow.¹⁸ These attempts to cultivate the pineapple in Spanish soil would prove unsuccessful as the plant’s agroecological needs could not be met in the Iberian Peninsula. It was only in the mid-seventeenth century, with the development of forced cultivation techniques, that growing pineapples in Europe became viable. For this reason, pineapple consumption in Europe was limited, for many decades, to aristocrats and the wealthiest of society.¹⁹ In contrast, the pineapple had spread widely in the tropical world and, since the mid-sixteenth century, had become accessible to members of all social strata.

From Brazil to China: Pineapples as food, medicine & refreshment

The first graphic report referring to this Brazilian fruit was provided by André Thevet (1516-1590), a missionary who embarked for Brazil in 1555. He was the chaplain of the fleet that left Europe under the command of Vice-Admiral Nicolas Durand de Villegagnon (1510-1571), an experienced navigator who landed on the coast of Brazil with the aim of establishing there the “France Antarctique”.²⁰

Thevet, who only stayed in the region for a short period, was the author of important cosmographic works, such as Cosmographie de Levant (1554) and ^{Les Singularitez de la France Antartique (1557)}. In the latter, he describes the Brazilian natural world, peoples and landscape and presents several vegetable species valued locally for their dietary and medicinal uses. In addition to the pineapple, Thevet mentions other “new” plants used by the Tupinambá, such as manioc (Manhioc esculentus Crantz), peanuts (Arachis hipogea L.) and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.).²¹ In Thevet’s description, the pineapple is referred to by its local name “nana”, with a focus on its medicinal properties: “The fruit which they commonly eat when sick is named Nana”²² (^{Thevet, 1568, p. 72}). [See Figure 1].

Source: ^{André Thevet (1557)}. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nana_Thevet_1557_89v.png

Figure 1. The first printed image of a Brazilian pineapple appeared in ^{Thevet’s Singularitez de la France Antarctique (1557)}  

As noted above, the medicinal qualities of the fruit were highlighted by many other Europeans who visited or settled in this region of South America throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.²³ Like Thevet, the protestant missionary Jean de Léry (1534-1611) visited the Brazilian region.²⁴ In 1578, he published an account of his experience in Rio de Janeiro and in Tupinambá territory in the Guanabara Bay region. Entitled Histoire d’un voyage fait en la terre du Bresil, the volume contains observations from his time spent there. On the pineapple, he writes:

Quant aux plantes et herbes, dont je veux aussi faire mention, je commenceray par celles lesquelles, à cause de leurs fruict et effects, me semblent plus excellentes. Premierement la plante qui produit le fruict nommé par les sauvages Ananas, est de figure semblable aux glaieuls, et encores ayant les fueilles un peu courbées et cavelées tout à l’entour, plus approchantes de celles d’aloes... (Léry, 1578, pp. 211-212).

Léry does not clarify about what “excellent effects” he is referring to. However, his description suggests that he witnessed the local use of the fruit in some kind of healing practice.

The Society of Jesus had arrived in Brazil by the end of the 1540s and played a major role in providing descriptions of the peoples and natural world of the region. Encouraged by the founding priests to report on the world they encountered, the missionaries would periodically send detailed information to their superiors about Brazilian plants and animals, as well as the uses that the indigenous peoples gave to them.²⁵ Much of this information circulated within the Society, but some of it aroused the interest of the most curious and wealthiest Europeans. This led to its publication in Venice and, from the 1560s onwards, it was widely disseminated.²⁶

The pineapple was first mentioned in Jesuit correspondence in the early 1560s by Father Manuel da Nóbrega SJ (1517-1570). Nóbrega was the first Provincial of the Jesuit Order in colonial Brazil. In a letter addressed to Father Henriques²⁷ he sends jars of pineapple conserve and marmalades made from tropical fruits. It was through this letter that, in Europe, the Jesuits became aware of the medicinal qualities of these preserved fruits: “The master takes these preserved fruits for the patients, the ananases [pineapples] for kidney stones; though the ripe ones do not have such virtues as the unripe, they are nonetheless still of use. The Brothers recovering from this illness would do well to come here for the treatment received” (Manuel da Nóbrega in ^{Cunha, 1978, p. 50}; ^{Leite, 1955, pp. 377-378}; ^{Carvalho, 2020, pp. 9, 89}).²⁸

Two years later, Father Juan de Polanco sent, from Trent (Italy), a letter to Father Gonçalo Vaz de Melo (Provincial of Portugal). It should be noted that, between 1545 and 1563, Trent was the centre of the Catholic world and it was here that an ecumenical council was held that led to the emergence of the Counter-Reformation movement. Despite the importance of the subjects under discussion in the council, information regarding the therapeutic qualities of tropical fruits featured prominently in their correspondence. In fact, Polanco’s missive specifically mentions some of the information shared by Nóbrega and reveals an interest in testing the qualities of preserved pineapple. Regarding these exotic conserves, he writes: “Manuel da Nóbrega talks of certain preserved foods for those with kidney stones and calls them ananazes […]. When you have the opportunity to send some of these things to these parts to assess their effectiveness, we would be happy to test them ourselves” (Juan de Polanco in ^{Monumenta Brasiliae, 1956-1958, pp. 541-46}; ^{Carvalho, 2020, pp. 9, 89}).³⁰

We know, then, that from 1563 onwards, news of the medicinal properties of pineapple conserves circulated around the Society of Jesus.³¹ The reports of chroniclers and religious men describing the characteristics of this American fruit, combined with the information on its therapeutic properties, could have encouraged its transportation from Brazil to other tropical regions.

During the 1560s, no other Portuguese source referred to the pineapple. In fact, the first description in a printed Portuguese source only appeared in História da Província de Santa Cruz (1576). The author was the chronicler Pedro Magalhães Gândavo (c.1540-c.1580), a man who undertook administrative duties in Bahia between 1558 and 1572. The História was clearly a form of propaganda, aiming to encourage the Portuguese to settle in Brazil and thereby aid its colonisation.

A keen observer of the natural world, Gândavo describes the natural riches of this vast South American territory and refers to the large-scale cultivation of pineapples by the indigenous peoples. When Gândavo writes “they all do so much for this fruit that they have them plant it over large areas, like cardoons…”, he appears to suggest that by the 1570s, colonisers or missionaries had organised the work of the Tupinambá that lived in the villages with a view to large-scale pineapple production.³²

These villages, which were home to the indigenous peoples who had converted to Catholicism, made it easier to organise and administer the missions created by Society of Jesus missionaries. However, the missionaries were not particularly attentive to the diverse backgrounds and cultural traditions of these peoples.³³ According to ^{Gândavo (1922)}, these pineapples might have been consumed fresh by both the Tupinambá and the Portuguese posted there used to supply the ocean-crossing ships with fresh food or used to produce conserves. The chronicle also refers to a fermented drink made from pineapple juice that left the indigenous people “drowsy” due to its high alcohol content.³⁴

Some years later, the Portuguese farmer Gabriel Soares de Sousa (c.1540-c.1591) also mentions the pineapple in Brazil. Soares de Sousa set up sugar mills there and became vastly wealthy through agriculture and prospection. He later recorded his memories and observations of the natural world, peoples and treasures of Brazil in a volume known as Tratado Descritivo do Brasil (1587).³⁵ In this book, Soares de Sousa reveals strong observational skills and a profound curiosity for Brazil’s lands, peoples and produce. Regarding pineapples, he writes: “The natural habitat of this fruit is hot and humid and very harmful for anyone with a wound or an open sore, [...] when they are ripe, the Indians make wine with which they get drunk, so they harvest them when they are less ripe in order to be sourer than wine; [...] a lot of preserves are made from this fruit, with the skin removed, which is very beautiful and tasty...” (^{Soares de Sousa, 1989[1587], pp. 133-134}).³⁶ In his description, he alludes to the qualities of the fruit and emphasises the healing properties (according to the Humoral theory)³⁷ and mentions the importance of the local production of a “wine” made from fermented pineapple juice.³⁸

The medicinal qualities of pineapples were also recorded in other Brazilian reports, such as the Drake Manuscript (c. 1586) or the Treatize of Brazil written by a Portugall who had long lived there (c. 1601), published by Samuel Purchas.³⁹ Decades later, in the 1600s, Friar Cristóvão de Lisboa refers to the pineapple as “the best fruit on this Earth when ripe” in História das plantas e animais do Maranhão (c. 1624). He also alludes to the vast quantity of pineapples in the region, “in the bushland and along the rivers” (^{1967 [1624-1627], p. 105})⁴⁰, emphasising its nutritional and medicinal qualities, as well as its abortifacient effect when consumed unripe by pregnant women (Blanco, 1845).⁴¹

Like other fruits from the tropics, the pineapple demonstrated great aptitude for adapting to tropical and subtropical ecosystems. The fruit was very popular amongst the Portuguese who settled on both sides of the Atlantic.⁴² Rich in sugar, water and vitamins, the pineapple probably became part of the crews’ onboard diet. Apparently, pineapple crowns were left to take root when ships made stopovers for technical reasons or provisions, thereby making it possible for other Carreira da Índia ships to replenish their pineapple supplies when passing by on subsequent voyages.⁴³ This is likely how the pineapple rapidly branched out from Brazil and propagated around the Atlantic, on the island of Santa Helena and the coastal regions of southern Africa.⁴⁴ In the early 1560s, the species was taken to the west coast of India, from where it would later spread around the East. It was in this way that the fruit was successfully transferred from Brazil to modern-day Angola, Mozambique, Zanzibar, India, Malaysia, and China (^{O’Connor, 2013}).

This circulation around the Americas and Asia was primarily driven by the consumption of fresh pineapple. Although when it arrived in a new land the fruit was regarded as rare and valuable, its rapid acclimatisation to the agroecological conditions found in the tropics further east meant that it soon became considered “local produce”, as would happen with other fruits originating in the Americas. Thus, by the late 1570s, American produce such as pineapples, cashews (Anacardium occidentale L.) and peanuts (Arachis hypogea L.) had become an everyday commodity for the Portuguese and local populations in Goa, Cochin and Bassein, alongside mangoes (Mangifera indica L.), jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.), rose apples (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.), mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.), watermelons (Citrullus lanatus [Thunb.] Matsum. & Nakai), sweet oranges (Citrus sinensis [L.] Osbeck) and other Asian fruits.

At the end of the following decade, the pineapple was brought by the franges (as Europeans were known in the East) to the distant Mughal Empire. It soon filled the tables and imperial gardens of Agra and its taste and aroma were greatly appreciated by emperors Akbar (1542-1605) and Jahangir (1569-1627).⁴⁵ [See Figure 2].

Source: Author’s adaptation from ^{Ferrão, 2015, p. 57.}

Figure 2. The transfer of Ananas comosus in the sixteenth century 

As the Portuguese made their way through the vast tropical world, the pace at which Asian, African, American, and European fruits and vegetables spread was dictated by how quickly they advanced. As the pineapple was naturalised in far-off lands, it also gradually acquired new attributes.⁴⁶ Along the African coast and across Asia, the pineapple was widely consumed and depicted. Likewise, in Europe and its imperial possessions, the fruit and its image also left their mark. In addition to enriching diets and providing new medicinal remedies, the fruit began to be employed as a decorative motif on a variety of different surfaces. In convents, churches and other places of Catholic worship, the image of the pineapple cropped up on columns and capitals alongside the traditional acanthus leaves and shells. The pineapple was also depicted on porcelain, textiles, furniture, and valuable objects, thus revealing the profound interest and curiosity that it aroused amongst Europeans. [See Figure 3]. Finally, the frequent references to pineapples in travelogues, correspondence and Natural History treatises and its depiction on maps is indicative of the importance that it had achieved amongst Europeans from the 1500s onwards.⁴⁷

Source: Pharmacy Museum, Lisbon. No. Inv. 10794

Figure 3. Round plate in Chinese porcelain, exported to the West, decorated in cobalt blue. China, eighteenth century 

Transfer of the pineapple to the Philippines: the discovery of a new textile source

When the Spanish reached the Philippines, they soon began introducing European, Asian, and American plants into the archipelago. Some American fruits were the subject of a significant production effort. Notable among them are the pineapple, guava (Psidium guajava L.), avocado (Persea americana Mill.) and other species with medicinal applications, such as tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.).⁴⁸

By the end of the 1570s, numerous handwritten and printed reports on the flora and fauna of the New World were already in circulation. These texts gave particular emphasis to plants and animals which had a medicinal use, could be eaten or used as dye or as a source of fibres. While some of this information remained handwritten, in other sources, such as the chronicles and histories of Gonzalo de Oviedo, López de Gomara, Friar Bernardino de Sahagún and, especially, Historia Medicinale by Nicolas Monardes, there is a good deal of information about the dietary and therapeutic qualities of the American natural world.⁴⁹ In Monardes volume, we read: “…They take them [pineapples] to be good for the stomache, and likewise for the hearte, and to restore the appetite lost; it is a generall fruite in all partes of the Indias, and much esteemed. They are to be eaten at the beginning of meale. They use to eate them in the hot after soones; for they say that they do refresh: they are cold in my judgment…”.⁵⁰

Due to its properties, the pineapple features in all these sources describing Spanish colonial lands, where the fruit, served fresh or as a conserve, was much appreciated by the agents of Philip II. In the Philippine archipelago an alternative way of exploiting the species was identified. Here it was not so much for its fruit which, as we shall see, was shipped into the Philippines from abroad, but for its high-quality fibres, which local craftsmen and weavers learnt to use. This dual use of A. comosus (imported to be eaten fresh or produced locally for the extraction of its fibres) occurred in the Philippines, from the end of the 1500s.

Fresh pineapple consumption

Although A. comosus could be grown in the Philippines, by the end of the sixteenth century, Filipinos and Spanish settlers continued to import the fruit from abroad. In a letter sent to Philip II on 27 June, 1588, D. Domingo de Salazar, the first Bishop of Manila, alludes to the diversity of produce that arrived in Manila from China every year, amongst which the pineapple featured prominently.⁵¹ The prelate’s letter reads:

Twenty merchantmen generally sail hither each year from China, each one carrying at least a hundred men, who trade from November until May -in those vessels coming hither, living here, and departing to their own country. They bring hither two thousand pesos’ worth of merchandise, only ten thousand pesos being in food supplies - such as flour, sugar, biscuits, butter, oranges, walnuts, chestnuts, pineapples, figs, plums, pomegranates, pear, and other fruits, salt, pork, and hams, -and in such abundance that the city [Manila] and its environs are supported thereby during the whole year.⁵²

This abundance of the pineapple in China suggests that it had been previously introduced there. How the plant made its way to China is not fully understood, but it may have arrived there via different trade routes. In his richly illustrated book on Chinese flora, Michal Boym (1612-1659), a Polish Jesuit who was sent on a Mission to China and arrived in Tonkin in 1647, claims the pineapple was transferred to China by the hands of the Portuguese.⁵³ In his wanderings around continental China, Boym collected a vast amount of information regarding the region’s flora and fauna. In Flora Sinensis (Vienna, 1666), he depicted the pineapple [Fan-po-lo-mie] as a naturalised plant that had rightfully become part of Chinese flora. [See Figure 4].⁵⁴

Source: Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Library, Art & Archives https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/123322

Figure 4.  ^{M. Boym, Flora Sinensis. Wien, 1656}  

Years later, Atanasius Kircher (1602-1680) argued that the pineapple had arrived in China from Peru.⁵⁵ This scholar was one of the most erudite priests of the Society of Jesus and had a broad knowledge of astronomy, physics, mathematics, botany, and other aspects of the natural world. He was the author of several works that reveal his deep interest in and knowledge of various scientific areas.^{56 China illustrata (1987 [1667], p. 182)} reads: “Among other things, it is unusual in being also found among the Americans and East Indians who call it Ananas, and among the Chinese who call it Fam po lo nie. There is a great supply of it in the province of Quantung, Chiamsi, and Fokien. It is thought to have been first imported to China from Peru”.

In fact, both scenarios of how the pineapple reached China are possible and, most likely, correct. On the one hand, contact between the Portuguese and the Chinese dated back to the mid-sixteenth century and, on the other, since the Spanish had settled in Manila, interaction between Spaniards and Chinese sailors, craftsmen and merchants had intensified. This led to an increased sharing of experiences and exchange of produce and knowledge.⁵⁷

Fibre extraction

In the sixteenth century, the Spaniards centred their administrative and mercantile activities on the island of Panay. It did not take long for the fertility of the islands to be noticed by Miguel de Loarca⁵⁸ who, in 1582, wrote the Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas, an extensive study on the archipelago. The large number of Chinese artisans and merchants amongst the local populations reveals the degree of cultural and commercial exchange that took place on the islands before the arrival of Europeans.

As mentioned, textile production was an ancient tradition in the Philippines and, in addition to working with fibres such as abaca (M. textilis), coconut (C. nucifera L.), cotton (Gossypium L.) or silk (produced by Bombyx mori Linnaeus, 1758), Indian and Chinese cotton and silk cloth were used to make clothing.⁵⁹ As noted by chroniclers and scholars, the success of these products was brought about, in part, by a combination of the native populations’ textile skills, the European settlers’ encouragement of the activity, and the business initiative of the many Chinese who travelled across the region. In addition, the colonial imposition of tributes to the Crown - to be paid in kind, or with agricultural or manufactured products- may have led the local peoples to focus on weaving, an activity they had long mastered.⁶⁰

The initiative to promote the education and training of the local peoples was largely due to missionaries, probably to Friar Juan de Plascencia (1520-1590). This religious man left Seville in June 1577 and arrived in the Philippines in September of the following year.⁶¹ Before setting sail from the port of Acapulco, he spent a few months in Mexico. Once regular contact had been established between Manila and Acapulco, a large American region became “closer” to the Philippines and, from 1565 onwards, this regular maritime route allowed for an intensified cultural and human exchange.⁶² As mentioned, this transfer of plants, animals and people in both directions had an important social, cultural and agroecological impact and facilitated the dissemination of knowledge and practices, which could then be appropriated by different peoples.⁶³

Arriving in Manila, Friar Plascencia and Friar Diego Oropesa developed an extensive missionary campaign. They encouraged the setting up of primary schools where doctrine and the arts were taught. There, in addition to doctrine and writing, the education of the populations was extended to crafts, for which the indigenous peoples revealed a unique aptitude. It was the conviction of the missionaries that training the local populations and enhancing their skills could increase their worth as citizens of the empire.⁶⁴ Native girls that were used to working with vegetable fibres were encouraged to weave and embroider using new raw materials. The tasks of extracting, washing, spinning, weaving, and colouring the fabrics were carried out by Bisaya women due to the skill and dexterity they required. Later, in a letter sent in 1590 to Philip II, D. Domingo de Salazar highlighted the remarkable work of these women in the production of high-quality embroidery: “embroiders who are already producing excellent embroidered works and are continually improving their art...”.⁶⁵ Surpassing the delicacy of the finest European lace and embroidery further encouraged its production. [See Figure 5].

Source: Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Jean L. Keith in memory of Christine Keith, 1968 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/169865

Figure 5. Pineapple-fibre handkerchief 

In addition to young Filipinas, Chinese immigrants known as Sangleys were also recognised for their skill in producing fine embroidery.⁶⁶ Indeed, it was not only religious orders which settled in the region, but also Chinese craftsmen. With a long tradition in the art of embroidery, they brought new techniques with them which resulted in works of great beauty and extraordinary originality. The use of juzi, as the locals referred to the silk brought by Chinese merchants, made it possible to produce light fabrics.⁶⁷ With this mixture of natural fibres, the challenge of acquiring seasonally-produced pineapple fibre on a consistent basis was overcome. The use of this technique would therefore appear to be the result of the transfer of cultural habits and plant material, local appropriations and reciprocal influences amongst the people who encountered each other, thanks to the regular ocean crossings at the end of the sixteenth century.⁶⁸

Brightness, texture, and transparency were sought-after attributes in cloth to be used in religious ceremonies and the demand for ever finer fabrics led to a greater investment in the production of lace and embroidery made from pineapple fibres - the most delicate vegetable fibre worked by Filipinos. So, while the themes and design were Hispanic, the raw materials, skill and craftsmanship were indigenous. Altar cloths, chalice, and other liturgical cloths, as well as many other delicate fabrics such as shirts, pañuelos and handkerchiefs would have been woven from pineapple fibre and then embroidered with cotton, silk, or pineapple fibres. At the end of the sixteenth century, these scarves, handkerchiefs and pañuelos commanded very high prices in Europe and only ladies of the highest social status could afford to display them alongside their gold, silver, and precious stone jewellery.⁶⁹

This important flow of people, practices and knowledge between China, the New World and Manila allowed for cultural and human exchange, permitted knowledge and practices to be transferred and local traditions to be appreciated and valued. Therefore, the adaptability of Ananas comosus led to a diversity of uses: in the opulent Caribbean and Mexico, the pineapple plant produced delicious fruit and sweet conserves; in the delicate Philippines, the use given to pineapple fibres, especially those extracted from the Red Spanish variety, revealed the refinement and sophistication of a region with great potential at the gates of China.

For Paulina Machuca, this new application for pineapple fibres in the Philippines resulted from a phenomenon she has named transculturation. This shows how the populations of the archipelago appropriated the use of this newly arrived plant species, exploiting it by employing practices they had long used with other species, such as abaca, cotton, or coconut. As referred, in Panay craftsmen were able to extract very fine fibres from pineapple leaves which, once they had been washed, dried in the air, and patiently spun, were woven on bamboo and wood looms, long used by the local people (^{Bernal, 1965}; ^{Cárcer and Disdier, 1995}; ^{Machuca, 2016b}; ^{Phipps, 2020}).

Over time, pineapple-based fabrics also took on a political value and contributed to the Philippine national identity. Currently, they are used in the manufacturing of haute couture dresses and traditional costumes. The latter, the tagalog barong and baro’t saya, are used on formal occasions and at national festivals. The former is a long-sleeved men’s shirt, woven and embroidered using pineapple fibre. While it was traditionally only worn by men, it can, in certain circumstances, be worn by women as a sign of empowerment and political action. The latter, the baro’t saya, is a long skirt, traditionally worn by women. The most valuable costumes are woven and embroidered entirely with pineapple fibre. However, given the high production, extraction, spinning and manufacturing costs, it can be made from other fibres, such as abaca, cotton, organza, or silk. These outfits came about through the fusion of pre-colonial and Spanish garments.⁷⁰

An old tradition with a sustainable future

Currently, bamboo looms and artisanal production techniques remain unaffected by the pressures of technological advances. Nevertheless, the highly time-consuming nature of the production of these fabrics and the poor financial return for craftspeople and agricultural producers have called into question the survival of this technique. However, the recent availability of new lines of financing aimed at safeguarding knowledge and techniques is a sign of hope for these craftspeople. An example of this is the support which has led to the creation of hybrid textile fibres such as “piña-abaca”, “piña-cotton”, “piña-silk”. These alternatives have contributed to the recovery of ancestral techniques, as well as protecting the jobs of pineapple producers and craftsmen.⁷¹

The prospects for these ancient techniques have also been boosted by increased awareness in the textile industry of the benefits of procuring products that, on one hand, are an alternative to using industrial fibres which have a substantial environment impact and, on the other, promote sustainable ecosystems and circular economy solutions.⁷² Such is the case of Piñatex®, a recently-patented product proving a great success in textile production aimed at home decoration, footwear and accessories.

Aware of the cultural changes that might influence their customers, the fashion and haute couture industries have also revealed a desire to change their ways and are increasingly seeking out “cleaner” raw materials. The creation of “environmentally-friendly” fashion products and accessories is a response to customers’ growing environmental concerns and promotes awareness amongst younger people of the urgent need to protect the biodiversity of natural ecosystems.

Similarly, Pinyapel®, a product obtained from organic waste created during pineapple production, is a paper and plastic substitute used in cardboard and containers. This new product is expected to have a major impact on the ready-to-eat and take-away industries and could also make a significant contribution to reducing the use of plastics and other more polluting packaging materials. Not only does it reduce the use of non-renewable resources, but, as a nutrient-rich substrate, it can also be reused in pineapple cultivation, thereby reducing its environmental impact and production costs.⁷³

Finally, against the backdrop of the pandemic, some artisans created individual protective masks woven from cotton and pineapple fibres and embroidered with silk thread. Although they are not a substitute for the authorised FFP2® masks, the beauty of these masks, which can be placed over standard ones, has lessened the economic and social impacts that the pandemic has caused in the crafts industry. The future of any of these initiatives, which believe in the sustainability of pineapple production and the products associated with it, is, as we set out at the beginning of this research, largely based on local practices, and solidly anchored in an ancestral tradition.

More than five centuries after the first Europeans laid eyes on A. comosus, pineapple cultivation is widespread throughout the tropical and subtropical world.⁷⁴ Eaten fresh or from tins, it is also recognised today for its various culinary uses and important medicinal applications. These properties, which were understood by the indigenous peoples and disseminated by Europeans, can now be confirmed in laboratories. In addition, contact with different human societies led to innovative new uses of the pineapple which, in the case of the Philippines, proved to be of great economic, cultural, political and social importance.⁷⁵ Therefore, this global transfer of the pineapple and the movement of people across the whole world, which was so characteristic of the sixteenth century, had an impact on the diets, healing practices and cultural and social habits of the peoples of Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. The communities of each region found their own way of exploiting this “pilgrim” species, providing a good illustration of how the domestication, production, and consumption of A. comosus and its by-products gave rise to new interactions and adaptations in societies, economies, ecosystems, and environments on a global scale.