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From The Very Poor
To The Very Rich
By Myrlande Jean
It’s hard to believe that
lobster was once considered
poor man’s food. Lobsters were
so plentiful that Native Americans
used them to fertilize their fields and
to bait their hooks for fishing. In colo-
nial times, lobsters were considered “pov-
erty food”. They were harvested from tidal
pools and served to children, to prisoners, and to
indentured servants, who exchanged their passage to
America for seven years of service to their sponsors. In Mas-
sachusetts, some of the servants finally rebelled. They had it put into their contracts
that they would not be forced to eat lobster more than three times a week. Lobsters
were abundant, often washing up shore to form piles up to two feet high. Since they
were so plentiful and easy to harvest, lobsters were a frequent meal for poor fami-
lies near the coast. The disdain for lobster slowly waned over the centuries, and the
poor man’s chicken soon became the rich man’s prize.
106 CNM | CARIBBEANNETWORKMAGAZINE.COM
