Cacao cultivation and the chocolate trade from New Spain to Europe (c. 1520–1750)

1. Casa de Contratación centralizes Spain’s Atlantic trade

   Jan 1, 1503Labels: Casa de, Seville

   • Britannica

2. Spanish conquest begins reshaping cacao’s trade context

   Aug 13, 1521Labels: Spanish conquest, Tenochtitlan

   • Britannica
   • Soconusco

3. Documented chocolate gift reaches Prince Philip’s court

   Jan 1, 1544Labels: Prince Philip, Dominican friars

   • Chocolate Class

4. Soconusco cacao remains a key colonial production zone

   Jan 1, 1582Labels: Soconusco, Chiapas

   • HCP Fund
   • tDAR

5. First “official” cacao shipment arrives in Seville

   Jan 1, 1585Labels: Seville, Veracruz shipment

   • Chocolate Class

6. Chocolate enters the French court via royal marriage

   Jan 1, 1615Labels: Louis XIII, Anne of

   • Versailles

7. Colmenero publishes major Spanish treatise on chocolate

   Jan 1, 1631Labels: Antonio Colmenero, Curioso tratado

   • Recipes Project
   • Wikipedia Colmenero

8. English translation spreads Spanish chocolate knowledge

   Jan 1, 1652Labels: English translation, London

   • Gutenberg
   • Univ Alcal

9. First recorded London chocolate sale appears in print

   Jan 1, 1657Labels: London, Bishopsgate Street

   • Cocoa Heart

10. Debates and rules shape chocolate’s European consumption

    Jan 1, 1700Labels: Religious debates, Medical disputes

    • Recipes Project
    • TIME

11. Treaty of Utrecht opens limited legal channels for British trade

    Apr 11, 1713Labels: Treaty of, Asiento

    • Britannica Asiento

12. Spain charters the Guipuzcoan Company to control cacao exports

    Sep 25, 1728Labels: Guipuzcoan Company, Venezuela

    • Britannica Asiento
    • Wikipedia Guipuzcoan
    • Encyclopedia com

13. Guipuzcoan Company begins operations and faces local resistance

    Jan 1, 1730Labels: Guipuzcoan Company, Local resistance

    • Wikipedia Guipuzcoan
    • Encyclopedia com

14. By mid-18th century, cacao trade helps normalize chocolate in Europe

    Jan 1, 1750Labels: European cities, Cacao trade

    • TIME
    • Versailles
    • Encyclopedia com