Week 2 Reflection

Jean Ger

Villa

Making the Mediterranean

20 October 2015

Week 2 Reflection

Though chocolate has had a very prevalent presence in my life, I have never given too much thought to it's origin or it's history. "The True History of Chocolate," shed light on the  reverence surrounding chocolate during its entrance and acceptance into Baroque Europe. Chocolate was once perceived as "the food of the gods." It was also believed to hold medicinal properties and was only consumed by the regal or elite; the wealthy, powerful, and elite in both Europe and Mesoamerica have always perceived chocolate to be a royal dish (Coe and Coe, 125). We enjoy chocolate today in many different forms with such easy accessibility that it's history of violence and debate seems almost unfathomable.

Chocolate was believed to hold properties that "restores natural heat, generates pure blood, enlivens the heart, and conserves natural faculties," (149). Chocolate was widely believed to hold medicinal properties, however, the way it was prepared was often argued about. The technique in how people made chocolate drink, in specific, was widely debated. New findings on chocolate's medicinal properties elicited that if it were concocted with just plain water, then it was just a drink. However, if it were made with nourishing material, it is only then it is nourishing (149).

Chocolate consumption itself has a very interesting history of it's entrance and how it was received in Baroque Europe. I found it interesting, however, that there was barely any mention of how it was acquired. Though title of the chapter is, "Chocolate Conquers Europe," it seems almost inappropriate to use the term "conquer" in this context, given chocolate's history before entering European lands. Coe & Coe insinuate that they acknowledge the idea of chocolate and cacao’s "discovery" was marked with Westernism, framing the word "discovery" in quotation marks to illustrate this point (124). Although there is ambiguity on how and when it was introduced in countries like Spain, there is little ambiguity where cacao was extracted from and who suffered in the name of chocolate consumption.

In Parini's, "The Day," the poet strategically illustrates an image of typical  chocolate consumption by an elite, then transitions to depict the bloody means to obtain chocolate in the last stanza. “The blood of a man a trivial sacrifice//When, flinging down from their ancestral thrones//Incas and Mexicans of royal line//They wrecked two kingdoms to refresh thy palate” (Parini). These lines within the last stanza depict the violent means the Spanish used to obtain chocolate, disregarding even the most royal lines of Mesoamerica.

This strategic ordering of events within the poem, from consumption to pillaging, acts in a way to represent how far the royalty is from the “inviolate world,” and how their lived realities contrast--privileged and the oppressed. It almost reminds me of the ways in which we criticize the government when engaging in warfare. Often times, we highlight the fact that war happens thousands of miles away, yet the ones who declare war sit comfortably in their offices, often unable to fathom the bloodbaths that epitomize war. Like America’s past Commander in Chief who have instigated wars over “oil”, the King who sends his ships overseas to obtain cacao by any means necessary sits so comfortably from the warzone.

How can we stake wars, sacrifice human lives, for unessential commodities? For any commodity? If the masses within Baroque Europe were asked, “Are you okay with killing thousands of people in order to consume your chocolate?” and replied no, would that have stopped the “flinging down from their ancestral thrones//Incas and Mayas?” I would like to believe that things would be different if those in power ceased dehumanizing lives in their capitalist pursuits. I would like to believe we live in a world that human lives hold more value than commodities.

However, I cannot help but think that I am not too different than those who wage war. While I sit comfortably in my top-tier education, writing essays and leading workshops on human rights violations occurring globally, these are the actual lived realities of the masses. After I lead these workshops, I go back to drinking my tea in the comfort of my home. While I am not waging an overt war, I am aware of the injustices occurring and have done little to stop them. What is awareness if there is no action?  In response to learning about the lives sacrificed in order for us to consume our precious chocolate thousands of years ago, I hope to pursue a life where my awareness will not be in vain.