<P> Olives are not native to the Americas . Spanish colonists brought the olive to the New World , where its cultivation prospered in present - day Peru and Chile . The first seedlings from Spain were planted in Lima by Antonio de Rivera in 1560 . Olive tree cultivation quickly spread along the valleys of South America 's dry Pacific coast where the climate was similar to the Mediterranean . Spanish missionaries established the tree in the 18th century in California . It was first cultivated at Mission San Diego de Alcalá in 1769 or later around 1795 . Orchards were started at other missions , but in 1838 , an inspection found only two olive orchards in California . Cultivation for oil gradually became a highly successful commercial venture from the 1860s onward . In Japan , the first successful planting of olive trees happened in 1908 on Shodo Island , which became the cradle of olive cultivation . An estimated 865 million olive trees are in the world today ( as of 2005 ) , and the vast majority of these are found in Mediterranean countries , with traditionally marginal areas accounting for no more than 25 % of olive - planted area and 10 % of oil production . </P>
<P> Olives are not native to the Americas . Spanish colonists brought the olive to the New World , where its cultivation prospered in present - day Peru and Chile . The first seedlings from Spain were planted in Lima by Antonio de Rivera in 1560 . Olive tree cultivation quickly spread along the valleys of South America 's dry Pacific coast where the climate was similar to the Mediterranean . Spanish missionaries established the tree in the 18th century in California . It was first cultivated at Mission San Diego de Alcalá in 1769 or later around 1795 . Orchards were started at other missions , but in 1838 , an inspection found only two olive orchards in California . Cultivation for oil gradually became a highly successful commercial venture from the 1860s onward . In Japan , the first successful planting of olive trees happened in 1908 on Shodo Island , which became the cradle of olive cultivation . An estimated 865 million olive trees are in the world today ( as of 2005 ) , and the vast majority of these are found in Mediterranean countries , with traditionally marginal areas accounting for no more than 25 % of olive - planted area and 10 % of oil production . </P>
when did the first olive trees come to the new world
when did the first olive trees come to the new world
1560
1560