The True History of Chocolate, by Sophie and Michael Coe, was a disappointment. I had expected an in-depth analysis of the political, economic, and social dynamics of cacao; instead, the Coes embark on a thinly veiled historical overview of Pre-Columbian cultures and civilizations with any insightful analysis of chocolate only arriving midway through their narrative.

In terms of the questions we are to ask this book:

1)      What do the authors view as commodity? The view the various products yielded from cacao pods (cacao beans, pulp, chocolate, etc.) as their commodities of study.

2)      What change(s) takes place? The authors identify several key changes in chocolate consumption: the first major change is the adoption of chocolate by the European elites (first, the Spanish and then other European nations). The second change was explained as the transformation of chocolate from an elitist product into a food for mass consumption by the general population. Another change identified by the authors is the modern reemergence of chocolate connoisseurship, which was found centuries prior in the patterns of chocolate consumption by aristocratic and ecclesiastical elites.

3)      What are the catalysts of change? The acceptance of chocolate by the Spanish was the result of a gradual process of acculturation, in which chocolate was introduced to Spanish kitchens by indigenous women and the development of a taste for chocolate by Spanish colonial women. In addition, before chocolate could be fully accepted by Spanish (and ultimately Western European) society, hybridization was necessary. Europeans adapted native Mesoamerican recipes for chocolate by adding sugar and by using Eurasian spices as substitutes for indigenous ingredients. This hybridization made chocolate palatable and more familiar to the Spanish elites. Chocolate transformed into a product of mass consumption primarily due to two dramatic changes in Western Europe: the French Revolution which spurred the end of the primacy of the Catholic Church and the Catholic aristocracy, and the Industrial Revolution, which made chocolate more available and cheaper.

While I felt the book accomplished what it set out to do, I was very disappointed by the way in which the Coes approached this work. Sophie and Michael Coe do not hide their utter disdain for the Western European elites of the 16^th to 18^th centuries. Their bias permeates their work at every turn, with several references to Philip II (calling him fanatical, bigoted, and unhappy) as well those historians they refer to as “Spanish apologists.” Cosimo de Medici, also earning a mention, is referred to as gluttonous and bigoted. They are extremely defensive of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican societies, almost to the point of fanaticism. Even though I understand their perspective (the societies of Mesoamerica have long been given a raw deal in the historical record, being portrayed as blood-thirsty barbarians; also, the European figures that the authors target probably deserve such treatment), I expected a more professional and objective stance from a supposedly academic, well-researched, work.

Also, the sources cited within the text are not thoroughly analyzed to my satisfaction. I felt that the sources, not without some exception, served only to compliment the narrative created by the Coes, undergoing no deep, significant analysis.

In all, The True History of Chocolate provides some insight into our exploration of commodity history. However, it has what I believe to be very serious shortcomings, as I have stated above. At this point, I do not think I would include it in my revision of the course syllabus.