2 HISTORICAL 



polised this industry for many years. Monks were 

 responsible for the introduction of cocoa into Germany 

 and France. Cardinal Richelieu is reported to have been 

 cured of a dangerous disease by its use, which was 

 undoubtedly a valuable advertisement in its favour in 

 France. 



The earliest record of the introduction of cocoa into 

 England is contained in a notice in the Public Advertiser, 

 dated June 16, 1657, which stated that an excellent 

 West Indian drink, called chocolate, was on sale at a 

 Frenchman's house in Queen's Head Alley, Bishopsgate 

 Street. Early in the eighteenth centiu:y it had become 

 an exceedingly fashionable beverage : about this time 

 the " Cocoa Tree Club " in St. James's Street was a 

 recognised rendezvous of the Tory party. Its relatively 

 high price, compared with that of tea and coffee, limited 

 its use to the wealthy classes for several years. 



Growth of Cocoa Consumption. — In 1822 the consump- 

 tion of cocoa in England only amounted to about 500,000 

 pounds, of which, strange to say, more than one half was 

 consumed by the Navy, and this curious feature obtained 

 until 1830, when the total consumption was still under 

 a million pounds. The extent to which its use has 

 increased in popularity is well illustrated by the fact 

 that in the United Kingdom the consumption of cocoa 

 increased from 2,500,000 pounds in 1848 to 18,000,000 

 pounds in 1888, whilst during 1908 it had risen to 

 46,000,000 pounds. In other words, the rate of con- 

 sumption in the United Kingdom was during the year 

 1840 about half an ounce per head of population; in 

 1888 it rose to half a pound per head; in 1908 it was 

 more than one pound per head. 



With the increased demand for cocoa in Europe its 

 cultivation was rapidly extended in Brazil, Ecuador, 

 Santo Domingo, and Venezuela. 



From Central America the cultivation of cocoa soon 

 spread to the West Indian islands, and as early as 1671 

 the cocoa plantations in Jamaica, which had been formed 

 by the Spaniards, were destroyed by a " blast." 



The World's Production and Consumption of Cocoa.— 

 The following table extracted from the Oordian shows 

 the main sources of supply and the principal countries 

 of consumption in recent years. 



