Chocolate History, Culture, and Heritage

Chocolate. We all love it, but how much do we really know about it? In addition to pleasing palates since ancient times, chocolate has played an integral role in culture, society, religion, medicine, and economic development across the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Europe.

In 1998, the Chocolate History Group was formed by the University of California, Davis, and Mars, Incorporated to document the fascinating story and history of chocolate. This book features fifty-seven essays representing research activities and contributions from more than 100 members of the group. These contributors draw from their backgrounds in such diverse fields as anthropology, archaeology, biochemistry, culinary arts, gender studies, engineering, history, linguistics, nutrition, and paleography. The result is an unparalleled, scholarly examination of chocolate, beginning with ancient pre-Columbian civilizations and ending with twenty-first-century reports.

Here is a sampling of some of the fascinating topics explored inside the book:

• Ancient gods and Christian celebrations: chocolate and religion

• Chocolate and the Boston smallpox epidemic of 1764

• Chocolate pots: reflections of cultures, values, and times

• Pirates, prizes, and profits: cocoa and early American east coast trade

• Blood, conflict, and faith: chocolate in the southeast and southwest borderlands of North America

• Chocolate in France: evolution of a luxury product

• Development of concept maps and the chocolate research portal

Not only does this book offer careful documentation, it also features new and previously unpublished information and interpretations of chocolate history. Moreover, it offers a wealth of unusual and interesting facts and folklore about one of the world's favorite foods.

Foreword xi

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xvii

Chocolate Team (1998–2009) xix

Part I Beginnings and Religion

1 Cacao Use in Yucatán Among the Pre-Hispanic Maya 3
Gabrielle Vail

2 Tempest in a Chocolate Pot: Origin of the Word Cacao 17
Martha J. Macri

3 Ancient Gods and Christian Celebrations: Chocolate and Religion 27
Louis Evan Grivetti and Beatriz Cabezon

4 Chocolate and Sinful Behaviors: Inquisition Testimonies 37
Beatriz Cabezon, Patricia Barriga, and Louis Evan Grivetti

5 Nation of Nowhere: Jewish Role in Colonial American Chocolate History 49
Celia D. Shapiro

Part II Medicine and Recipes

6 Medicinal Chocolate in New Spain, Western Europe, and North America 67
Louis Evan Grivetti

7 Chocolate and the Boston Smallpox Epidemic of 1764 89
Louis Evan Grivetti

8 From Bean to Beverage: Historical Chocolate Recipes 99
Louis Evan Grivetti

9 Chocolate as Medicine: ImParting Dietary Advice and Moral Values Through 19th Century North American Cookbooks 115
Deanna Pucciarelli

Part III Serving and Advertising

10 Chocolate Preparation and Serving Vessels in Early North America 129
Amanda Lange

11 Silver Chocolate Pots of Colonial Boston 143
Gerald W. R. Ward

12 Is It A Chocolate Pot? Chocolate and Its Accoutrements in France from Cookbook to Collectible 157
Suzanne Perkins

13 Commercial Chocolate Pots: Reflections of Cultures, Values, and Times 177
Margaret Swisher

14 Role of Trade Cards in Marketing Chocolate During the Late 19th Century 183
Virginia Westbrook

15 Commercial Chocolate Posters: Reflections of Cultures, Values, and Times, 193
Margaret Swisher

16 Chocolate at the World’s Fairs, 1851–1964 199
Nicholas Westbrook

Part IV Economics Education and Crime

17 Pirates, Prizes, and Profits: Cocoa and Early American East Coast Trade 211
Kurt Richter and Nghiem Ta

18 How Much Is That Cocoa in The Window? Cocoa’s Position in the Early American Marketplace 219
Kurt Richter and Nghiem Ta

19 “C” Is for Chocolate: Chocolate and Cacao as Educational Themes in 18th Century North America 227
Louis Evan Grivetti

20 Chocolate, Crime, and the Courts: Selected English Trial Documents, 1693–1834 243
Louis Evan Grivetti

21 Dark Chocolate: Chocolate and Crime in North America and Elsewhere 255
Louis Evan Grivetti

Part V Colonial and Federal Eras (Part 1)

22 Chocolate and Other Colonial Beverages 265
Frank Clark

23 Chocolate Production and Uses in 17th and 18th Century North America 281
James F. Gay

24 Chocolate’s Early History in Canada 301
Catherine Macpherson

25 A Necessary Luxury: Chocolate in Louisbourg and New France 329
Anne Marie Lane Jonah, Ruby Fougère, and Heidi Moses

26 Chocolate Manufacturing and Marketing in Massachusetts, 1700–1920 345
Anne Blaschke

27 Boston Chocolate: Newspaper Articles and Advertisements, 1705–1825 359
Louis Evan Grivetti

Part VI Colonial and Federal Eras (Part 2)

28 Dutch Cacao Trade in New Netherland During the 17th and 18th Centuries 377
Peter G. Rose

29 Chocolate Consumption and Production in New York’s Upper Hudson River Valley, 1730–1830 381
W. Douglas McCombs

30 Chocolate Makers in 18th Century Pennsylvania 389
James F. Gay

31 Breakfasting on Chocolate: Chocolate in Military Life on the Northern Frontier, 1750–1780 399
Nicholas Westbrook, Christopher D. Fox, and Anne McCarty

32 Chocolate and North American Whaling Voyages 413
Christopher Kelly

Part VII Southeast/Southwest Borderlands and California

33 Blood, Conflict, and Faith: Chocolate in the Southeast and Southwest Borderlands, 1641–1833 425
Beatriz Cabezon, Patricia Barriga, and Louis Evan Grivetti

34 Sailors, Soldiers, and Padres: California Chocolate, 1542?–1840 439
Louis Evan Grivetti, Patricia Barriga, and Beatriz Cabezon

35 From Gold Bar to Chocolate Bar: California’s Chocolate History 465
Bertram M. Gordon

Part VIII Caribbean and South America

36 Caribbean Cocoa: Planting and Production 481
Janet Henshall Momsen and Pamela Richardson

37 Caribbean Chocolate: Preparation, Consumption, and Trade 493
Janet Henshall Momsen and Pamela Richardson

38 History of Cacao Cultivation and Chocolate Consumption in Cuba 505
Niurka Núñez González and Estrella González Noriega

39 History of Cacao and Chocolate in Cuban Literature, Games, Music, and Culinary Arts 523
Estrella González Noriega and Niurka Núñez González

40 Establishing Cacao Plantation Culture in the Atlantic World: Portuguese Cacao Cultivation in Brazil and West Africa, Circa 1580–1912 543
Timothy Walker

Part IX Europe and Asia

41 Cure or Confection? Chocolate in the Portuguese Royal Court and Colonial Hospitals, 1580–1830 561
Timothy Walker

42 Chocolate in France: Evolution of a Luxury Product 569
Bertram M. Gordon

43 Commerce, Colonies, and Cacao: Chocolate in England from Introduction to Industrialization 583
Bertram M. Gordon

44 Chinese Chocolate: Ambergris, Emperors, and Export Ware 595
Bertram M. Gordon

Part X Production, Manufacturing, and Contemporary Activities

45 Cacao, Haciendas, and the Jesuits: Letters from New Spain, 1693–1751 607
Beatriz Cabezon

46 From Stone Metates to Steel Mills: The Evolution of Chocolate Manufacturing 611
Rodney Snyder, Bradley Foliart Olsen, and Laura Pallas Brindle

47 Adulteration: The Dark World of “Dirty” Chocolate 625
Laura Pallas Brindle and Bradley Foliart Olsen

48 Making Colonial Era Chocolate: The Colonial Williamsburg Experience 635
James F. Gay and Frank Clark

49 American Heritage Chocolate 647
Eric Whitacre, William Bellody, and Rodney Snyder

50 Twenty-First Century Attitudes and Behaviors Regarding the Medicinal Use of Chocolate 651
Deanna Pucciarelli and James Barrett

Part XI Fieldwork, Methodology, and Interpretation

51 Symbols from Ancient Times: Paleography and the St. Augustine Chocolate Saga 669
Beatriz Cabezon and Louis Evan Grivetti

52 Digging for Chocolate in Charleston and Savannah 699
Laura Pallas Brindle and Bradley Foliart Olsen

53 Management of Cacao and Chocolate Data: Design and Development of a Chocolate Research Portal 715
Matthew Lange

54 Base Metal Chocolate Pots in North America: Context and Interpretation 723
Phil Dunning and Christopher D. Fox

55 Blue and Gray Chocolate: Searching for American Civil War Chocolate References 731
Louis Evan Grivetti

56 Chocolate Futures: Promising Areas for Further Research 743
Louis Evan Grivetti and Howard-Yana Shapiro

Appendices

Appendix 1 Lexicon and Abbreviations 777

Appendix 2 Archives, Institutions, Libraries, and Museums Consulted 797

Appendix 3 Commonsense Rules for Working in Archives, Libraries, and Museums 803
Bertram M. Gordon and Louis Evan Grivetti

Appendix 4 Digitized Resources Consulted 807

Appendix 5 Saint Augustine, Florida, 1642: Chocolate Distribution List by Name, Occupation, and Quantities Received 809
Beatriz Cabezon, translator

Appendix 6 Boston Chocolate, 1700–1825: People, Occupations, and Addresses 817
Louis Evan Grivetti

Appendix 7 The Ninety and Nine: Notable Chocolate-Associated Quotations, 1502–1953 837

Appendix 8 Chocolate Timeline 855

Appendix 9 Early Works on Chocolate: A Checklist 929
Axel Borg and Adam Siegel

Appendix 10 Nutritional Properties of Cocoa 943
Robert Rucker

Appendix 11 Illustration Credits 947

Index 961

Ooward-Yana Shapirh, PhD, is Global Director of Plant Science and External Research at Mars, Incorporated, the largest chocolate company in the world. Dr. Shapiro serves as Chairman of the Board of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute at the University of California, Davis, and is an Adjunct Professor in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He is a Fellow of the World Agroforestry Centre and a contributing author of the World Bank IAASTD Report, has presented at more than 150 international conferences and meetings, is a frequent contributor to media outlets worldwide as a writer and speaker, and has published three books on sustainable agriculture.