CHAPTER I 



HISTORICAL l 



IT is impossible to say how long the cultivation of 

 cocoa has existed, but it certainly goes back to very 

 ancient times. 



In Europe both the plant and its produce were 

 unknown till the beginning of the sixteenth century, 

 when Cortez and his soldiers became acquainted with 

 it on their landing in Mexico. In his fifth letter to 

 Charles V., Cortez writes that the cocoa plant is 

 cultivated to a large extent in the provinces Qupilcon 

 and Tatuytal ; he calls the tree " cacao " or " cacaguata." 

 There is no doubt that the Indians had cultivated 

 cocoa for many centuries before this, for it played an 

 important role in their popular traditions and legends. 

 They believed that the plant was of divine origin, and 

 that Quatzalcault, a prophet of the Indian mythology, 

 had brought the seeds from Paradise and sown them 

 in his gardens at Talzitepec. By eating the fruit he 

 acquired universal knowledge and wisdom, and was 

 held in great reverence by the people. This legend 

 shows how highly cocoa was appreciated by the Indians 

 of Mexico, who honoured its produce in the same way 

 as afterwards did Linnaeus, when he gave it the name 

 of " theobroma," signifying " the food of the gods." 



1 An interesting chapter on the history of cocoa is given by Jumelle in 

 his book, Le Cacaoyer, and still more interesting particulars and illustrations 

 are to be found in a little book by Van der Wielen, Cacao, Cultuur en Bereiding 

 (Amsterdam, 1906). 



B 



