The History of Chocolate
While it may not be the first thing on your mind when you pop a bar of chocolate into your basket in the store, chocolate has a long, romantic and sometimes violent history. It is a story filled with evocative, and provocative, images, from the heat-seared territories of the Ancient Aztecs to the swaggering Spanish conquistadors, from the worship of the cocoa bean to the jealous hoarding of chocolate for the enjoyment of the upper classes alone, from chocolate-fuelled frolicking in harems to devilishly sinful chocolate desserts served by the Marquis de Sade. All in all, the story of chocolate is the story of passion, desire and fulfilment – a bit like chocolate itself.

• Chocolate as Currency
• Chocolate as a Symbol of Wealth and Power
• Chocolate as a European Addiction
• Chocolate as a Quaker Venture
• Chocolate as the Stuff of Childhood Dreams
• Chocolate as a Luxury Food
• Chocolate as a Luxury Drink
• Chocolate as an Aphrodisiac
• Chocolate as an Object of Desire