The Global Journey and Significance of Mangoes

The mango, a fruit beloved by many, is native to northeast India, northwestern Myanmar, and Bangladesh. From these origins, it spread throughout Asia naturally and with human assistance. Fossil records, dating back 25 to 30 million years, confirm the mango's center of origin in these regions. This ancient lineage underscores its long-standing presence and significance in human history.

Cultivated for over 6000 years, mangoes have been revered in many cultures. They hold a special place in various traditions, symbolizing love and prosperity. Today, the mango is arguably the most widely consumed fresh fruit worldwide, with global production exceeding 17 million metric tons annually. Mexico stands out as the largest exporter of mangoes, showcasing the fruit's economic importance on a global scale.

The domestication and cultivation of mangoes began in the Indian subcontinent. Historical records suggest that Buddhist monks introduced mango plants to Malaya and eastern Asia as early as the 4th and 5th centuries BCE. By the 10th century CE, Persian traders had carried mangoes to the Middle East and East Africa. The Portuguese, arriving in India in the 15th century, further spread the fruit to South America, the Philippines, and West Africa. Today, mangoes are cultivated commercially in tropical and subtropical regions around the world.

The name "mango" is derived from the Latin "Mangifera indica," meaning "mango-bearing plant from India." This reflects the fruit's deep roots in Indian culture. The mango belongs to the Anacardiaceae family, which includes poison ivy, cashews, and pistachios. Its versatility is evident in the many names it goes by worldwide, such as manga, mangga, mangot, mangou, and mangue.

Mangoes come in over 50 varieties, displaying a vibrant range of colors from greenish and yellowish to reddish, often with hints of purple, pink, orange-yellow, or red. This diversity adds to their appeal, making them a staple in cuisines and diets across the globe.

In conclusion, the mango's journey from its ancient origins to its current global prominence highlights its enduring appeal and cultural significance. As both a cherished fruit and a valuable agricultural commodity, the mango continues to play a vital role in societies around the world.
The Global Journey and Significance of Mangoes

Mango in India

Mango cultivation probably originated in India, and it was estimated that mango cultivation to have began at least 4000 years ago.

This fruit is intimately associated with the history of India agriculture and civilization and it enjoys a royal status in the country when compared to the other growing places. Ancient Sanskrit literature described the mango as ‘king of fruits;. Ayurvedic medicine recognizes mangoes as an aphrodisiac and in some ancient n texts it is written that the ripe mango increases sexual energy and stamina.

The first group of people to spill the beans and initiate trade of the fruit were peripatetic Buddhist monks four or five centuries BC. A mango tree is depicted in friezes on the stupa of Bharut, which was constructed around 100 BC.

Available records indicate that the soldiers of Alexandra the Great has come across grove in Indus Valley. 

Traders and monks from India possibly introduced superior elections of mango into South-east Asia: however, vegetative propagation was unknown in India until after the arrival of the Portuguese in Goa in the 15th century.

During Mughal time, Akbar the Great paid the greatest tribute to mango who established an orchard of one lakh mango trees, designated as ‘Lakh-Bagh’ in Darbhanga in erstwhile Bihar State.

The mango tree and fruit are referred in the travelogues of ancient travelers including Huan tsang, Ibn Hankal and Ibn Batuta of which the Chinese traveler Huan-tsang is the first one to bring mango to the notice of the outside world during 632-645 AD.
Mango in India

Mango fruit in ancient times

History indicates that Indian mango cultivation is very ancient, of about 4000 years old. Ancient Indians value mango not merely for its sentiment or religious consideration, but they realized its importance in economic and cultural life of the society.

Fa-Hien and Sung-Yun mentioned in their travel notes that the Gautama Buddha was presented with a mango grove by Amradarika in 500 BC as a place for meditation.

The spread of Buddhism assisted in the distribution of mangoes in Southeastern Asia. Buddhist monks took mango plants on voyages to Malaya and eastern Asia in the 4th and 5th centuries BC.

According to German born botanist, Georg Eberhard Rumphius in his Het Amboinsche kruidboek or Herbarium Amboinense (1741), the mango was introduced into certain islands of the Indonesia archipelago within recent times; however, the mango was in cultivation in Java as early as early as AD 900-1100, when the temple at Borobudur was built and faced with carvings of the Buddha in contemplation under a mango tree.

Mangoes were carried to Africa during the 16th century and later found their way aboard Portuguese ships to Brazil in the 1700s.
Mango fruit in ancient times

Brief history of mango

The wild mango originated in the foothills of the Himalayas in India and Burma. The first group of people to spill the beans and initiate trade of the fruit were peripatetic Buddhist monks four or five centuries BC.

The mango was cultivated in Java at least as early as AD 900-1100, when the temple at Borobudur was built and faced with carvings of the Buddha in contemplation under a mango tree.

The Chinese traveler Hwen Tsang, who visited India during the first half of the seventh century AD, brought the mango home with him to China.

One theory holds that mangoes first reached Africa by way of Persia in the tenth century. Traders from Portugal introduced mangoes to Brazil in the 1700s and to Barbados in 1742. From there, mangoes then began popping up all over the world.

The cultivation of the fruits began in Mogul, India, where the fruit is still considered sacred and is thought to have aphrodisiac effects. In the 16th century, a special technique employing grafting was developed for propagating the mango.

As early as the sixteenth century, the name ‘mangas’ was used for the mango in the Greek Work, ‘Colloquies on Simples and Drugs of India’. The earliest mentioned of mango tree, Mangifera indica, which means ‘the great fruit bearer’, is found in Hindu scriptures dating back to 4000 BC.

The mango is a member of the Anachardiaceae family which includes poison ivy, cashews, and pistachios. It is also known as manga, mangga, mangot, mangou, and mangue in other parts of the world.

The mango comes in over 50 varieties, ranging in color from greenish, yellowish, to reddish, often tinged with purple, pink, orange-yellow, or red.
Brief history of mango

History of Mango in United States

The cultivated mango originated in southeastern Asia, and was brought to England during colonization of India. Later in 1742 mangoes were found growing in the West Indies.

Mangoes have been grown in the United States since 1824, when Capt. John Meek brought then to Hawaii.

They first reach the continental US in 1833, when Henry Perrine introduced them in the Miami area.

The first recorded successful introduction of mango into Florida was made in 1861, where only a few varieties were grown.

Since their introduction to Florida, they have grown to become an important cash crop as well as an exceptionally popular backyard tree.

In 1889, the United States Department of Agriculture introduced a grafted variety from India called the ‘Mulgoa’ also known as ‘Mulgoba’ in the United States.

It was followed by the introduction of several hundred accessions in the 20th century from South-east Asia, India and from other mango areas of the word.

Asians and Hispanics living in the United States account for a significant percentage of sales.
History of Mango in United States

History of Mangifera indica (Mango)

History of Mangifera indica (Mango)
M. indica was evidently domesticated in the northern India-Burma region, where it still grows wild in the hills of Assam and adjacent areas.

The wild trees, like their cultivated derivates, can grow to over 40 m in height and live for over a century.

The mango was probably being planted in India by 2000 B.C and is prominently recorded in ancient Sanskrit writings.

Human selection has been concentrated on the fruit and has produced cultivars with much larger, better flavored fruits with less resin and fiber and smaller pits.

During the 17th century, the Portuguese planted mangoes in coastal areas of both East and West Africa; but acceptance by the Africans was slow and spread into the interior was erratic.

Mango trees were present in a few interior market towns in West Africa, e.g., Fouta Djallon, when European explorers arrived in the late 19th century, but most of the spread came later.

The earliest known successful introduction of M. indica to the New World was to Bahia in Brazil about 1700 with plantings elsewhere along the Brazilian coast soon after.

In 1742, the mango was successfully introduced to Barbados from Rio de Janeiro. Soon other direct introductions to the West Indies were made from the Indian Ocean.

In latter half of the 18th century, British and French colonial botanical gardens played a leading role in mango introduction.

Mango trees, along with East Indian spice trees, were planted in the St. Vincent botanical garden when it was started in 1766.

Meanwhile, a quite spate introduction had taken place across the Pacific from the Philippine to Mexico.

Mangoes were not grown around Manila until over a century after the trade with Mexico began, nor were they grown in Mexico until late in the 18th century when Mexico acquired, under the name of mango of Manila, the unusual apomictic variety grown in the Philippine and Guam.

The great expansion of mango growing over tropical Central and South America took place between 1800 and 1850 mainly by casualty planted and volunteer seedling trees often yielding poor quality fruit.

Geographic spread of Mangifera was essentially completed in the last half of the 19th century with its introduction to such far flung places as Florida, Hawaii, Fiji, Queensland and Natal.
History of Mangifera indica (Mango)

History of Mango

Food History
Native to northeast India, north western Myanmar and Bangladesh, they later spread to the rest of Asia by themselves and with the help of humans.

Their centre of origin was revealed to be northeast India, Myanmar and Bangladesh after fossil records were found there dating back 25 to 30 million years.

They have been cultivated, praised and revered since ancient times. The mango is purportedly the most widely consumed fresh fruit in the world, with worldwide production exceeding 17 million metric tons a year. Mexico is the largest exporter of mangoes in the world.

Cultivation and domestication of mangos probably began in the Indian subcontinent, where they have been grown for more than 6000 years. Buddhist monks took mango plants on voyages to Malaya and eastern Asia in the 4th and 5th centuries BC.

By the tenth century AD, Persian traders had taken mango to the Middle East and East Africa. With the arrival of the Portuguese in India in the 15th century, it was later spread to South America, the Philippines and to West Africa. Mangos are now cultivated commercially throughout tropics and subtropical areas.

The English singular form mango comes from the Latin Mangifera indica meaning mango-bearing plant from India. The mango is a member of the Anachardiaceae family which includes poison ivy, cashews, and pistachios.


It is also known as manga, mangga, mangot, mangou, and mangue in other parts of the world.The mango comes in over 50 varieties, ranging in color from greenish, yellowish, to reddish, often tinged with purple, pink, orange-yellow, or red.