Timeline of cacao domestication and global spread
5300-1500 BCE
Ancient Origins & Domestication
Circa 5300 BCE: Earliest evidence of cacao use by the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in the Upper Amazon region (present-day Ecuador near the Peru border) • Circa 3600-3300 BCE: Domestication of cacao from wild Curaray populations in the Amazon basin, particularly in southeastern Ecuador • Circa 3000 BCE: Initial fermented beverage production from cacao pulp in the Amazon
1900 BCE-1519 CE
Spread to Mesoamerica
1900 BCE: Mokaya people on the Pacific coast of Chiapas, Mexico consuming cacao beverages • 1750 BCE: Pre-Olmec peoples preparing cacao on the Gulf Coast of Veracruz, Mexico • t• 600 BCE-1500 CE: Maya civilization uses cacao in ceremonies, as currency, and in elite rituals; Aztecs later adopt similar practices
1519-1700s
European Contact & Colonial Expansion
1519: Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés encounters cacao at the Aztec court • 1528: Cacao introduced to Spain • 1635: Spanish Capuchin friars cultivate Criollo cacao in Ecuador • 1660-1714: France plants cacao in Martinique, St. Lucia, Dominican Republic, Brazil, the Guianas, and Grenada • 1670: England establishes cacao cultivation in Jamaica • Late 16th century: Dutch introduce cacao to Indonesia and Sri Lanka • 1670: Spain brings cacao to the Philippines
1822-1900s
African Introduction & Expansion
1822: Amelonado cacao from Brazil planted in Príncipe • 1830: Cacao introduced to São Tomé • 1840: Cacao reaches Fernando Po (Bioko Island) • 1874: Introduction to Nigeria • 1879: Tetteh Quarshie brings cacao seeds from Fernando Po to Ghana (Gold Coast) • 1925-1939: Cacao introduced to Cameroon during colonial period • 2001: Côte d'Ivoire becomes the world's largest cacao producer, accounting for over one-third of global supply
Today, tomorrow, & the Future
Modern Era & Global Distribution
20th century: Trinitario cacao (Criollo-Forastero hybrid from Trinidad) spreads to Venezuela, Ecuador, Cameroon, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Java, and Papua New Guinea • Present day: West Africa produces the majority of the world's cacao, with significant production also in Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific
