Summary Of Sacred Chocolate

When Europeans encountered the Native Americans, the encounter was fraught with difficulties for both sides, for the Native Americans more so than the Europeans. Europeans conquered the Native Americans, forced them into labor, and spread diseases which the Native Americans had no resistance to. In addition to this the Europeans considered themselves superior to the Native Americans. Despite this, the Europeans and Native Americans, both had things the other wanted and so they often engaged in trade with each other. However, the Native Americans thought that, despite not having the luxuries the Europeans had, they were better off than the Europeans. This sentiment is exemplified in “Your People Live Only Upon Cod” by French priest Chrestian LeClerq who was traveling with the Micmac Indians. It is a documented response by an unknown Micmac leader to European, particularly French, claims of superiority. In analyzing this document, we will find that the cultures of the French and the Micmac were vastly different. We will also discover what the Micmac and the French thought of each other.

After Columbus’s voyage to the Americas in 1492, he took back to Spain to present the King and Queen not just riches, but also new products that weren’t available in Europe. He took back to Spain the practice of drinking chocolate mixed with heavy spices. For nearly 100 years after the Spaniards were introduced to chocolatl, the coveted drink of the New World inhabitants, they kept the secret of its production to themselves. In the same years as Shakespeare wrote his final plays, the missionary and theologian José de Acosta wrote about cocoa from Lima, Peru, saying, “It is so much esteemed among the Indians that it is one of the richest and the greatest traffickes of New Spain” (Liu; Pelletier, CDA’s World History Wiki). After a century, Spain lost its monopoly on the European chocolate market. By the mid-1600s, the drink made from the little brown beans had gained widespread popularity in France. In Europe, chocolate (as a drink) gained popularity as the production of the beans became more popular. More of the lower and middle class were able to afford it, and it was considered a great treat to have. In terms of economic impact, the cacao had been a boon for the

In the Columbian Exchange, ecology became destiny. Powerful environmental forces, understood by no one alive at the time and by very few people even today, determined who would thrive and who would die. And that may be the most shocking truth revealed to those who take the time to understand the Columbian Exchange: we, as humans, cannot always control our own destinies. The most important historical actors in this story are not Christopher Columbus or Moctezuma or Hernán Cortés. They are the smallpox virus, the pig, the potato, and the kernel of

One of the most interesting questions to ponder: is can a link be drawn directly to show the causation of why and when countries adopted customs or habits that are now fundamental in the present day. With secondary sources, these correlations can be shown and provide statistics as proof, based upon analysis of important primary sources. The journal article The Columbian Exchange: A History of Disease, Food and Ideas is a secondary source detailing what occurred in the years after the voyage of Columbus and how both the New World and the Old World were affected during this period of colonization. An interesting perspective was given in this paper, unlike many others that describe the same topic, in which the authors chose to focus on how the Old World was affected more so than what transpired in the areas being colonized. There was an extravagant biological exchange of both crops and disease, which provided serious lifestyle changes for both Europeans and the native people of the Americas, and there were also consequences elsewhere in the world associated with the Columbus exchange in the years after its commencement. Secondary sources are also very important to historians and this is a source that is very well written, backed up by diagrams and detailed evidence found in primary sources.

"The Colonization of North America." In Modern History Sourcebook. April 1999- [cited 17 September 2002] Available from http://www.fordham.edu/halsall.mod/modsbook.html., http://curry.eduschool.virginia.edu.

The long history between Native American and Europeans are a strained and bloody one. For the time of Columbus’s subsequent visits to the new world, native culture has

The long-term effects of the Columbian exchange included the swap of food, crops, and animals between the New World and Old World, and the start of the transoceanic trade. In order to produce a profit, Portuguese explorers were the first to established sugar cane plantations in Brazil. They then sold this crop to the Old World where it was a popular commodity because it provided Europeans with a sweetener for foods. In addition, European produce was brought to the New World, including “…wheat, vines, horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and chickens… Where they sharply increased supplies of food and animal energy.” This fusion of crops between the Old and New World became fundamental in enhancing the diets and food of both populations.

In this book, Tastes of Paradise, Wolfgang Schivelbusch, takes us through the history of the most familiar substances used in the central ages such as tobacco, tea, alcohol, opium, coffee and chocolate. Schivelbusch talks about how those substances have been first introduce to the Western nations and the way they have become acquainted and how they affected the festive shape of these international locations. It doesn’t really talk about the substances themselves, but instead their conversable rely in the European lifestyle. Those dishes have become a route for the oligarchy to specificity itself from the lower classes. Through history, it is seen that trade routes form when businesses want to fascinate potential buyers with either great

What many people only know about Christopher Columbus’s expedition is that he found the Americas. While this is true, he did find a completely new frontier that was unknown to the Old World, his findings re-shaped global consumption patterns from the seventeenth century. He found a New World filled with resources that the old world hasn’t seen before. When he found the new world he brought with him European plants and animal species that were foreign to the citizens of the New World. The Columbian Exchange introduced many foods that are still essential to consumption in today’s world along with the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. The potato is a prime example of how the Columbian Exchange changed global consumption patterns because it was nutritious and had an abundant amount of calories in it and caused a mass population increase in areas where the potato was available. The use of slaves also increased exponentially when sugar cane was introduced. This was a very cheap, productive way to produce a large amount of sugar and it was used by many Old World countries. The findings of these new world products created a rise in global consumption and production because products were introduced to the both the New World and the Old World and there instantly became a large spike in the availability of products. Along with this, the old world decided to go out and get themselves involved in the New World because they saw an opportunity

This paper tries to explain Jack Weatherford's Indian Givers by examining the history of the Native American connection to many agricultural products would not have been produced without the knowledge that Indians gave. Weatherford further stipulates that it is through these advances in agriculture that the United States has remained a strong contender in the global market, that without the influences of the Native Americans on the early settlers those early immigrants to America would not have survived. Through his work, "Indian Givers: How Indians of the Americas Transformed the World", Weatherford brings an insight to a people that most

Religion played on the settlers’ anxiety as well. Wheat bread and wine were the basis of the Catholic communion. Spaniards wondered if the Native Americans could be considered men without partaking the body and blood of Christ (p. 699-700). This would support the author’s thesis that the Spanish colonization was influenced by their fear of new foods. A professor of History at the University of Warwick, Earle seems more than capable of addressing the

Norton discusses what it meant for Europeans to consume tobacco and chocolate when knowledge abounded that the two were enmeshed in nearly every aspect of the pagan savages in the New World. Finally, Norton sheds light on how Europeans adapted tobacco and chocolate into their economy and lives. Europeans developed their own unique cultural meanings of tobacco and chocolate and

Author and professor of Africana studies, Ivan Van Sertima is known for shining a light on topics often discredited or brushed off in regards to the history of African Americans in the United States. In his book, They Came Before Columbus, Van Sertima outlines a theory about the presence and influence of black Africans during a pre-Columbian contact time period. A multitude of topics are addressed along the book, ideologies from ship traveling, trading, dynasties, and cultural identities. However, a specific theme that will be analyzed is Van Sertima’s discussion of ‘Plants and Transplants’ in a pre-Columbian America. Specifically, using Van Sertima’s outlined proposition on the history of this idea, as well as comparing with outside research

Paz Moreno brought Gorditas and Champurrado (Mexican Hot Chocolate) for her students to enjoy. Gorditas are a small round pastry that are part cookie and part tortilla. When translated into English from Spanish, “Gordita” means little fat woman. The beverage was thick, smooth, and much less sweet than American-ized hot chocolate. The most distinctive difference, however, is it’s corn base unlike the milk base of Americanized hot chocolate. The best moment of the lecture was when Dr. Paz Moreno shared her favorite recipe she found in an old cook book called “Hellado de Espania”. This is an ice cream recipe that was in use before there was such a thing as a freezer. First, you grab two pails and fill them with cream, sugar, and flavoring. Then, cover those pails with cloths dipped in cold salt water. Finally, tie those pails to your donkey and have him walk up and down the mountain. His movement causes the cream to slosh and churn into ice cream. Unfortunately, since Waco doesn’t have mountains, we cannot try this recipe. Dr. Paz Moreno’s and Dr. Walden’s fascination with cookbooks, as testaments to typically unseen history, has reshaped how I view historical artifacts. Prior to this year I had conceptualized “historical artifacts” as an item in a museum or a text book. In truth, I now believe we can learn far more about the history of a people from their everyday items because they give us context into groups that typically are not included in the history

Godiva chocolate has been a paramount in its field of expertise, chocolate. It has an annual sale of $500 million. Offering a very interactive and personal customer service, where customers could feel the staff’s sincerity.