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AnswerThe origins of chocolate, which is derived from the Theobroma cacao tree, stretch back at least 4000 years.The plant is believed to have originated in the Amazon or Orinoco basins in South America and was regarded by the Aztecs as being of divine origin ('Theobroma' means 'food of the gods').

Although Christopher Columbus was the first European to carry beans back to Europe (around 1502) they were as curiosities but it is his fellow countryman, the conquistador Herman Cortes, who is credited with introducing them to the Western World a little over 40 years later.

Hernan Cortes recognizing its potential he took a load of cocoa beans back to Spain. These were used to seed plantations in Trinidad, Haiti and the West African island of Fernando Po and gave Spain a virtual monopoly of the cocoa market for almost a century.

Freedy, I just wanted to point out that Christophe Columbus was born in Italy and Hernan Cortes was from Spain. They couldn't be "countrymen" since were not from the same place in Europe.

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14y ago

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