SC - questions/kinda long, sorry

[KallipygosRed@aol.com]

A translation of the Diario of Christopher Columbus came into my hands last
night at my favorite used book store.  The Diario is a manuscript copy by a
Spanish priest of the diary Columbus kept during his first voyage
(1492-1493).  This particular translation is a scholarly work with the
complete text of the diary and the translation on opposing pages.  Footnotes
are copious and previous translations are referenced for additional clarity.

One of the comments which caught my eye was to the effect, the chili is the
pepper of these islands and Columbus believed he could ship 50 caravels of
chilies from Hispanola to Spain every year.

Did he carry out his plan?  Possibly.  He was govenor of Hispanola until
1500.  Given the fantastic profits on the 200 to 300 tons of black pepper
imported into Europe each year, being able to deliver 10 times that amount
of the new chili pepper would be a serious temptation for a man of Columbus'
ambition.

There is pictorial evidence that peppers could be found in Spanish kitchens
during the 16th Century, but beyond that, evidence for the use of chilies in
Europe seems to be non-existent.  The Portuguese had introduced grains of
paradise no more than 70 years prior to Columbus' voyage and they were
accepted and widely used.  Why not chilies?

It is possible the Portuguese spice trade with the East Indies overwhelmed
the fledging spice trade with the West Indies, but the first Portuguese
spices didn't reach the market until 1500 and it was 1503 before they broke
the pepper monopoly by returning with 1300 tons of black pepper.  

Given the European taste for spices and Columbus' intent to export them to
Spain in quantity, chilies should have been a winner.  That there is limited
evidence for their use makes me curious as to why they apparently did not
come into common use.

Bear