Theobroma cacao, the tree that gave rise to chocolate, is believed to have originated at least 4,000 years ago in the northern Amazon rainforest basin. This region is present-day Venezuela, and is characterized by the rainforest and the Orinoco River; the Spanish adventurer Orellano claimed to have found the fabled City of Gold, El Dorado, in this area. The rainforest’s understory here enabled the plant to flourish, as it received vital nutrients, water, and shade from the canopy above.
The first people to use the wild cacao trees were the indigenous inhabitants of this region. Early on, these people gathered the cocoa seeds from the trees. Then, at least 3,000 years ago, they learned to domesticate the plant for the sweet pulp surrounding the seeds. Some seeds were eventually planted with both wild and cultivated understory plants to grow plants that are closer to today’s cacao crop.
Cacao plants were valued by these native Venezuelans. Trade for valuable commodities is likely how cocoa seeds spread and came to other civilizations that pioneered other uses for cocoa. Researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and Cornell University have discovered evidence of a pre-Honduran society that developed the first kind of chocolate using cocoa. Excavations focusing on this society have uncovered pieces of ceremonial pottery for rituals involving chocolate, from B.C. 2000 to A.D. 1000. This marks the earliest use of chocolate by humans. The great Mayan civilization of Mesoamerica, widely credited for expanding on the “wonders” of cocoa and chocolate creation, likely acquired cocoa seeds through trade from the native Venezuelans.
From there, the central locations of cocoa and chocolate usage shifted to ancient Mesoamerica for the following centuries. The Maya passed cocoa onto the Aztecs; it was the Aztec civilization that gave the Spanish explorers their first encounter with chocolate, after the Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica in 1521. The modern-day Venezuelan region was colonized by Spain shortly afterward, in 1522.
The Venezuelan colony was largely neglected by Spain during the 16th and 17th centuries, as the Spanish government focused on finding gold and silver in neighboring areas. But in the 18th century, after cocoa and chocolate had spread to Europe through further trade, the Spanish began establishing cacao plantations in the area to increase chocolate supply to Europe. African slaves were imported in large numbers to tend to these plantations. Venezuela became a main supplier of cocoa to Europe and the colonizing countries for the next few hundred years, until the 1920s when much cacao cultivation moved to Africa.
Today, Venezuela is in 13th place in the world for cocoa production. However, there is a growing movement to reinstate the country as a prime center for cocoa and chocolate. The criollo cacao bean, a particular kind of cacao bean, is the country’s aromatic and flavorful trademark. As of late, many of the world’s gourmet chocolate gourmets are seeking these beans, especially those in Italy and France. Venezuelan communities are also switching from conventional to organic farming and changing their marketing practices. Demand for more natural, higher quality beans is growing, so cacao farmers are able to earn four times as much for organic beans than those grown with artificial fertilizers. Farmers are selling the organic cocoa seeds straight to foreign chocolate manufacturers, without local intermediaries.
The positive upturns in the country’s cocoa industry have contributed to an improved national economy and new entrepreneurial projects. Cocoa producers, for example, are beginning to make their own chocolate bars instead of exporting their beans. Cooperative groups are also experimenting with products like chocolate punch, wine, and pudding. These enterprises are still young, but as they gain financial resources, their products could enter the international market and establish Venezuela as a world leader in chocolate, where the entire chocolate revolution began in the first place.