Turkey: European Turkeys

When the Spanish arrived in Mexico in 1519, they found an abundance of domesticated turkeys. They later found domesticated turkeys in what became the southwestern United States. The Spanish had introduced domesticated turkeys into the Caribbean by 1520 and into Spain soon thereafter. From Spain turkeys spread rapidly throughout western Europe and the Mediterranean, making turkey among the first New World food products adopted in the Old World. The reason for this rapid success was the physical similarity between New World turkeys and the highly prestigious Old World pheasants and peacocks. In addition, turkeys had much more meat than did commonly eaten chickens.