By the late 17th century, thanks to Spain’s extensive contact with Central and South Americans, chocolate had become a delicacy enjoyed by the wealthy. So much so, writes Orge Castellano, that King Charles II and his courtiers “sipped chocolate while watching conversos accused of being Judaizers be burned at stake.” But the descendants of converted Jews, some of whom had returned to Judaism, would also play a crucial role in turning the food into a popular treat throughout Europe and North America. Castellano writes:
The vast networks of Sephardi Jews living in the Caribbean would become reputable manufacturers par excellence and the largest exporters of cacao. Jews would learn from Native Americans how to process cacao according to their customs. Early involvement in the harvesting and developing of vanilla refineries and rum distilleries meant the Jews settled in the colonies had an advantage not only in the harvesting process of chocolate but also in its manufacturing.
Benjamin d’Acosta de Andrade, a Dutch West India Company shareholder, was one of these new settlers. Originally from Bayonne [in southern France], this converso, who most probably had been born in Portugal, farmed cocoa trees on the French Caribbean island of Martinique around the 1660s. The entrepreneur, who later converted back to Judaism in [Dutch-ruled] Brazil, created the first cacao-processing factory in French territory, opened the first synagogue in 1676, and owned two of the largest sugarcane plantations in the region.
D’Acosta was but one among many. Nor was the Jewish involvement in the chocolate trade limited to Sephardi or Caribbean Jews:
Levy Solomons—a native of Montreal who lived in Albany, New York, and manufactured and sold tobacco, snuff, and chocolate—was another essential North American Jewish trader in the 1790s. His factory supplied chocolate for hot drinks to Dutch customers. Simon and Hyman Gratz from Philadelphia had a successful business with Brazil, importing as much as 15,000 pounds of cocoa from Santo Domingo.
Read more on Tablet: https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/food/articles/making-modern-chocolate