The Chocolate Explosion

Appears in
Chocolate: The Food of the Gods

By Chantal Coady

Published 1993

  • About
The eighteenth century is often referred to as ‘the Age of Enlightenment’, and certainly it was a time of enormous change in terms of culture, industry, and mobility. In England, as elsewhere, many great inventors were experimenting with new ideas, and one of them was Walter Churchman. In 1728, Churchman invented an engine for grinding cocoa, powered by the water-wheel. In 1729, he was granted a patent by King George II. He established a factory in Bristol, using his new invention, and took advantage of his proximity to the port, where frequent shipments of cocoa beans from the West Indies arrived. It was at about this time that the ‘slave triangle’ began. Glass beads and similar merchandise were exported from Bristol to West Africa, where they were traded for slaves. From Africa, slaves were taken to the West Indies and sold. The triangle was completed with a cargo of hardwoods, sugar and cocoa being shipped back to Bristol, and from there distributed around the country by horse-drawn coaches.