The Spanish originally were merely interested in the economic
value of cocoa. They even judged the chocolate drink as horrible,
and the rites and habits as heretic. But after some decades the
Aztecs convinced the Spanish of the great nutritional value and the
medicinal powers of cocoa, cocoa butter and the chocolate
drink.
1528: Cortés imported the first cocoa beans into Spain while the
Spanish maintained and stimulated cocoa cultivation in a restricted
area in Latin America. They dominated and even monopolized the
cocoa market and tried to keep the secret of this new gold to
themselves.
Chocolate arrives on the European continent... as a
medicine
When chocolate arrived on the European continent, it was first
regarded as a medicine, rather than as a delicious foodstuff. This
was related to the Aztec belief that chocolate strengthened the
body and was sensually stimulating. The first official statement
was made by Bonavontura Di Aragon, brother of Cardinal Richelieu,
in 1653: he described the use of chocolate as stimulating the
healthy functioning of the spleen and other digestive functions.
Another example of this medicinal classification of chocolate is
found in the first publication of the recipe for chocolate made by
the Spanish doctor Antonio Colmenero de Ledesma in 1631. This was
based on the ancient Aztec recipe, but the bitter flavor was
enhanced by adding flowers and herbs like anis, vanilla, Roses of
Alexandria, cinnamon, almonds, hazelnuts… The exact spices added
depended on the physical ailments one suffered.
Pharmacists and doctors often added their “functional and proven”
medicines to the chocolate recipe in the 17th century. The taste of
chocolate made the often bitter and bad taste of many medicines
more acceptable.
In the 17th and 18th century, chocolate was regularly prescribed or
mixed into medication for all sorts of ailments and diseases: the
Dutch doctor Bontecoe saw it as highly effective against colds and
coughing. According to the French Lémery it promoted digestion,
fertility and human resistance to colds and flu. Chocolate was even
considered as “brain power”, to reinforce the mental performance of
people, or even for people suffering from depression. This was
confirmed by doctors all over Europe: Bontecoe, Brillat-Savarin,
Lémery and many others.
Because the medical properties of the Aztec-inspired chocolate
drink recipe were so widely accepted, chocolate became the subject
of abuse by charlatans who attributed advantages to it without any
proof. Chocolate also became the subject of forgery and fraud,
using waste products like the cheap cocoa shells instead of the
precious kernels of the cocoa bean.
... and eventually as a sweet treat
Benzoni, an explorer working for the Spanish army, describes in his
traveling notes in 1565 for the first time how the cocoa drink is
prepared. The Spanish keep this secret from the rest of the world,
in the hope they can keep their monopoly in the cocoa trade.
However, we owe the recipe for sweet chocolate to the
nuns residing in Oaxaca (Mexico) - they popularized the
chocolate drink among the colonials by adding honey, cinnamon and
cane sugar. It was Spanish monks who introduced the first sweet
delicacy to Spain around 1590. They sweetened the
chocolate drink with honey and vanilla. The sweet sensation they
developed laid the basis for our chocolate recipe today. It would
conquer the world at a stroke.
In 1606 the Italian trader Carletti revealed the
secrets of cocoa and the preparation of the chocolate drink to his
fellow Italians. Carletti had enjoyed cocoa and chocolate in the
West Indies and in Spain. It was a sensation he wanted to share
with fellow Italians… with quite some effect. In Italy this lead to
a real chocolate-mania, with cioccolatieri opening up in all major
cities with Perugia as the heart of the Italian chocolate world. In
Venice the first chocolate shops appeared. From Italy, chocolate
was introduced to Germany, Austria and
Switzerland.
The French got to know chocolate in 1615: when
Louis XIII married the Spanish Anna of Austria. They moved to
France, introducing the chocolate drink to the royal court. Anna
even brought her own maid Molina to France, a beautiful girl who
prepared the queen’s cocoa drink.
The Netherlands became part of the Spanish
imperium in the 14th century, which explains the early introduction
of cocoa there in 1621. The West Indian Company even imported cocoa
through the port of Amsterdam, set up small-scale production units
for the processing of cocoa and sold its products to foreign
traders.
Belgium was annexed with the Spanish imperium
after the death of Charles the Bold in 1477. The first traces of
cocoa were found in Ghent in 1635 in the Baudeloo abbey.
In 1641 the German scientist Johan Georg
Volckammer tasted chocolate on his trip to Napoli. He was so
overwhelmed by the charm of it that he imported some chocolate to
Germany. It took him some time to convince the Germans, but after a
while many of them fell for its taste. The Germans even introduced
the habit of drinking a cup of hot chocolate before sleeping. Did
this have something to do with the German belief in chocolate as
the best stimulus for passion?
As for the English, chocolate was valued as
“extravagant” when they first got to taste it in 1657. As in the
rest of Europe, chocolate was a privilege at first, only consumed
at the royal court and by the nobles but it soon developed into a
popular foodstuff for the upper class.
And finally: France had its first real chocolatier
in 1659. David Chaillou prepared and sold biscuits and cakes made
with chocolate for those who could afford it. It is still too early
for real pralines, as we know them.
In 1674 chocolate was served in pastry in the
first coffee houses in the UK.
When he visited the Belgian capital Brussels in
1697 the Zurich mayor Heinrich Escher tasted
chocolate on one of his tours around the city. He was filled with
so much amazement and enthusiasm that he immediately took samples
back with him to Switzerland. Escher probably never imagined for
himself what the consequence for Switzerland would be – becoming
one the world's greatest chocolate nations.
Religion & Politics
1662: The Italian cardinal Francesco Maria Brancaccio confirms
after years of long discussions that it was permissible for
Catholics to consume chocolate during the 40 days of Lent, but only
as a drink and not in its solid shape, neither processed in cakes
or as pastilles.
1671: The duke of Plessis-Pralin – one of the ambassadors serving
Louis XIII – was competing with the Bordelais, who undermined the
King’s authority. In one of his sly moods, he came upon the idea of
inventing a candy that would distract the rebels of Bordelais. He
proposed this idea to his chef Lassagne, who – by coincidence
– had seen one of his sous-chefs enrobing an almond in some spoiled
bits of sugar. The idea of the praline was born. It still would
take a long time though before the real praline – covered with
chocolate – was invented.
A threat to cocoa
In the 17th century, the cocoa plantations became
over-cultivated which exhausted the soil. On the other hand, the
colonials had spread diseases and epidemics that struck the local
population in a dramatic way. Hundreds of thousands of people
died: local workers became scarce and the Spanish couldn’t find
enough men to take care of the thousands of cocoa plantations. At
that point, the success of cocoa threatened to destroy its own
future.
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