Chapter 6

Author: Louis Grivetti

Title: Medicinal Chocolate in New Spain, Western Europe, and North America

Since earliest times the history of chocolate has been viewed both as a food and as a medicine. Members of our team previously summarized and published information on Pre-Colonial and early Spanish Colonial Era uses of chocolate, and how medicinal chocolate uses were ultimately transferred to Europe, whether to Spain, France, Italy, or England. The present paper will consider medicinal uses of chocolate during the early colonization of New Spain after the Spanish conquest of Mexico, identifies the medical-related content of the primary 16th-19th century chocolate-related monographs and treatises published in Europe after chocolate was introduced in the 16th century. The essay concludes with medical-related information gleaned from reports from the Spanish States in what is now California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas

Previous | Next
Back to Chapter Overview page