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History 1450 to 1750

Introduction

This assignment is about the drastic changes that took place in the Western Europe during the beginning of modern period. The main areas of the Western civilization brought some of the dramatic transformations during the period of 1450 to 1750. However, being an agricultural society, the western part turn out to be unusually commercially dynamic, lively and improved by building strong manufacturing and production sector. Governments were identified with the increased powers and more empowered. In terms of intellectual life, science was the main and critical part for the very first times in the historical background of any of the society. The families changed their ideas of their standard of living and changed their way. These changes were an outcome of international expansion and emerging commercial dominance (www.historyhaven.com).

The changes that occurred internally for instance; enlightenment and renaissance were identified considerably internal conflicts targeting towards the main points and focused on the commerce, culture and state along with the support from technology. This paper will specifically be focusing on the changes that have occurred during the year 1450-1750 while taking into consideration the production and consumption of chocolate, sugar, potato and silver. While discussing the production and consumption, the period of slavery will also be highlighted.

Discussion

Production and Consumption of Chocolate

The Olmecs (1500-400 BC) were certainly the first humans to enjoy a beverage, as grounded cocoa beans, water and decorated mixed spices, chilies and herbs and who began to cultivate cocoa in Mexico. In the course of centuries, cocoa culture spread to Maya populations (600 BC) and Aztec (1400 BC). The bean then was used as currency and as a unit of measurement equal to 400 beans and 8000. At the time of the wars between Aztecs, Mayas and Chimimeken latter used the bean as a tax on the conquered areas (Barry, pp. 5). For these civilizations, cocoa was a symbol of abundance that was used at the time of religious rituals dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec God bearer cocoa men, the patron saint of cocoa and Maya at the time of the funerals of elites, as an offering. Cocoa culture continued to spread at the mercy of migration flows in America but consumption of the beverage was a privilege reserved for the upper classes and for soldiers during the battles (Barry, pp. 5). The invigorating and tonic virtues of cocoa were already known at that time.

Discovery and Cocoa Trade

It is in 1502, in the time scale in Nicaragua, that Christopher Columbus glimpse cocoa beans aboard an indigenous canoe do not care. The real value of this "Golden Brown" is actually revealed only by Hernan Cortes than having tasted next to the Aztec emperor Montezuma, brings it to the court of Spain in 1528 with the necessary accessories for the manufacturing of the drink. After a successful war against the indigenous tribes and the destruction of the Aztec civilization, he undertook the intensification of the culture of cacao on the lands of ...