The American Indians commonly cultivated these with squash and corn. This was partly to provide support for the beans which were viny. By 2000 B.C. cultivated in Peru. The Portugese took peanuts to several parts of the world in the early 1500's and it is now hard to tell that they are not native. They were widely cultivated in Africa and were brought back to the Americas by black slaves.
Peanuts are an important crop in the southeastern U.S. in sandy soils.
They largely replaced cotton in the South after the boll weevil became a major pest about 1900. Peanuts are widely eaten in West Africa today. This is the second most important legums, but are often not eaten directly. This legume contains more oil than most. Peanut oil is widely used in West Africa and in France.