In our last episode on chocolate and our final one of the current season, Andy Silen-McMillin joins Holly Marsden as they trace its journey across early modern Europe and its many uses as a product.
When most people think of chocolate today, they think of hot chocolate or chocolate bars. However, did you know that it was once used as an aphrodisiac? Holly Marsden and Andy Silen-McMillin explore the recipes, uses, and products made with chocolate.
For kings and queens in early modern Europe, chocolate was power, and power was everything. Discover how this fascinating link developed!
Until the 16th century, Europeans were unaware of the cocoa bean’s existence. Everything changed when Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés brought chocolate back to Spain in 1528. Afterwards, demand for chocolate exploded across Europe. From Moctezuma’s grand palace in Tenochtitlan to noble halls across Europe, Holly Marston and Andy Silen-McMillin trace the spread of chocolate and how people used it. The story of chocolate is the story of humanity at the time; slaves cultivated it, traders made riches from it, nobility consumed it, and everyone else coveted it. When Holly and Andy explore the reasons for its popularity, it’s easy to see why this is the case.
Further Links and Resources
This episode is the last of a three-part series on chocolate by members of #TeamQueens and you can find the first two episodes in this series in our HistBites episode library.
If this three-part series has inspired you to learn more about the history of chocolate, then why not check out these articles: History of Chocolate, Chocolate's Sweet History, How Europe went cuckoo for cocoa and Smithsonian’s A Brief History of Chocolate.
And if you’re curious about the work of #TeamQueens, why not check out their website and read about their research on all things queens.
Please note the HistBites team are taking a break over Christmas and January, but plan to return with a brand new season in February 2022. Already lots of podcasts have been recorded but if you know of a great Hampshire story or are a Hampshire based historian with a national or international story to share, do get in touch. We’d be delighted to hear from you, and maybe your story will appear in the first season of 2022.