In search of the spiciest Spice. Part 1

History of chili peppers, their ancestral use, their discovery by Europeans and their propagation throughout the world, influencing economies, cultures and people across the globe.

In the 14th century, the Italian cities of Venice and Genoa dominated the trade in spices and, above all, black pepper, the most valuable commodity that a 14th-century European could appreciate.

Already in the 13th century, Marco Polo had tried to establish the Silk Road that connected Italy to the markets of the Orient, the most important of which was India. However, it was Arab merchants who controlled its import into Europe. The conquest of Constantinople by the Ottomans in 1453 greatly reduced trade, forcing longer and more dangerous routes and driving up the price of pepper.

For the kingdoms of Portugal and Castile, the conquest of Constantinople (Istanbul) was the spark that ignited the Age of Discovery. They realized the need to find another route to India and the commercial advantages of finding a route without the danger of robbers, dismantling the Italian commercial monopoly on spices in Europe.

The project for the sea route to India was designed by King John II, but it was his successors, King Manuel I and Prince Henry the Navigator, who brought it to fruition. Portugal relied on the best naval technology of its time, the caravel. The School of Sagres was founded in 1418, a center for nautical studies. It also had significant investment from the bourgeoisie and nobility, who saw the potential profits of this endeavor. All this in an era when most people believed that the sea was populated by sea monsters and that the Earth was flat.

With the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Caribbean in 1492, and Pedro Álvares Cabral in Brazil in 1500, Europeans seeking new trade routes for the transport of spices found a new world across the Atlantic. Among the riches that came from America was a plant with a pungency and heat incomparable to anything else known until then in Asia or Europe: the chili pepper. It was so named because it was the best substitute found for the black pepper these explorers were seeking.

Although it had been part of the human diet in South America since at least 7500 BC, the chili pepper, known here as "malagueta," was beginning to make its first appearances in Europe.

Although it had been part of the human diet in South America since at least 7500 BC, the chili pepper, known here as "malagueta," was beginning to make its first appearances in Europe. In monasteries in Portugal and Castile, monks experimented with its culinary potential and discovered an alternative to black pepper, which at the time was so expensive that it was sometimes used as currency in some countries.

During the 15th century, Portugal became the greatest economic power in Europe, controlling a growing Empire that expanded from America, through Africa, to South Asia and the Pacific. There is a direct relationship between the geographical spread of the chili pepper and the presence of Portuguese traders, with India and Southeast Asia being examples of this.

The search for pepper sparked the greatest era of discovery and exploration in human history, but in the end, it was the chili peppers that conquered the world.

The search for pepper sparked the greatest era of discovery and exploration in human history, but in the end, it was the chili peppers that conquered the world. They spread throughout Europe, reaching as far as Hungary, where they became a national spice in the form of Paprika. The chili pepper also established a strong presence in Goa, India, and today, across the country, families always have hot peppers that they use in most meals; it is an essential ingredient in curry, and some states, like Rajasthan, have dishes made entirely with hot peppers. In Bhutan, the chili pepper is still the most important fruit today, present in all local markets, where you can find chilies of all colors and sizes, fresh or dried. Throughout Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands, it is one of the most appreciated spices.

Across the world, the chili pepper has created enthusiasts and fanatics, countless uses and possibilities, and above all, much love from those who enjoy it. Nowadays, just as in the 15th century, those who discover spice for the first time cannot live without it, and just like in the 15th century, the chili continues its expansion around the world, reaching more and more homes. Has it reached yours yet?

Illustration by Nick_Ohlo