COCOA 



CHAP. 



At the time of Cortez, cocoa was not only highly 

 appreciated by the Indians as a beverage, but was 

 also used as a substitute for money, in the same way 

 as the kola-nut is still used in Africa. That it was 



Van den Boom die de Cacavate draegt,dat hacr Geldt is,en 



hocdelndiancnuyttwccHoutcnVycrkrijgcn. 



't toelch fjun gelt i / ben 

 \^ boom Die bit b>aecf)t en 10? nitt feet 

 groot / (jp en teafl niet ban in Ijeete 

 plaetfen / borfj in fcljabutoe / taant 

 ttiert (jp befcgenen ttan be <&onne Ijp 

 fpube ttergaen : ^aerom plant men 

 fjeminbe boflt&en baer 'tttocfjticf) i& 

 en tyeefenbe of bit niet (jmaeg en toaer 

 planten fn hem bp eenen boom bie t)Q 

 lichen fyal toaiTwtu batr 



ober bupgen/ enberb^epten fonen top/ 

 fo bat tip groot toefeibe hem bebecht/ 

 bus! hrn'gt ijp otter alfcfjabutoe/ fo bat 

 (jem be^on ingeenber ttoegen ^\\\- 

 bert, 381.61 fp up? tuillen maechen/ foo 

 nemen fp 2. fi)outjt ttan befen Q5oom 

 bie fp fo lang tegen jnalhanber iu;ntten 

 tot batfe bjanben/ en bit iff be jiBanier 

 ttanBup? maechen in ganfrlj 

 onber be 3Jnbianen geVurc (I, 



FIG. 1. The Cocoa Tree. 

 From the Dutch edition of Girolamo Benzoni's History of the New World. 



The following is a translation of the inscriptions : 



" Of the tree which bears Cacavate, which is money, and how the Indians obtain fire from 

 two pieces of wood." 



" Cacavate, which is money. The tree which produces it is not very large. It grows only 

 in hot places, but under shade, for if the sun were to shine on it, it would die. Therefore 

 they plant it in forests where it is humid, and, afraid that this is not enough, they plant it 

 next to a tree which is higher and which they bend over it, spreading out its top so that it 

 covers the cocoa tree, which thus gets shade all over it, so that the sun no longer does any 

 harm. When they want to make a fire, they take two pieces of wood from this tree and rub 

 them against each other till they catch fire ; and throughout India this is the method of 

 making fire used by the Indians." 



valued very highly is apparent from the fact that a 

 rabbit could be purchased for ten, and a slave for one 

 hundred beans. The different provinces paid their 

 tribute to the Chief in cocoa, and when the Spaniards 



