26 COCOA AND CHOCOLATE 



III. 

 EARLY USE. 



THE name chocolate is nearly the same 

 in most European languages, and is 

 taken from the Mexican name of the 

 drink, chocolatl, or cacahuatl. Atl is 

 common enough in Mexican words, and 

 is known to signify water. What the first 

 part of the word means is not so clear. A 

 French writer says it signifies noise ; and 

 that the drink was so named because it was 

 beaten to a froth before being drunk. 



The Spaniards found chocolate in com- 

 mon use among the Mexicans at the time 

 of the invasion under Cortez, in 1519, and 

 it was introduced into Spain immediately 

 after. The Mexicans not only used choco- 

 late as a staple article of food, but they used 

 the seeds of the cacao-tree as a medium 



