Gee, who’da thunk that you could get chocolate made in Mexico? Isn’t just about all cacao grown in Mexico?
No, years ago I saw it growing in St. Lucia and Martinique.
At the end of the 17th century, other European nations succeeded in establishing cocoa production in regions conducive to its cultivation throughout the Caribbean and South America: Curacao (Holland), Jamaica (Great Britain), Martinique and St Lucia, the Dominican Republic (known as Hispaniola in the 17th century), Brazil (Portugal), Guyana and Grenada (France).
During the 19th century, increasing demand for cocoa led to its introduction in Africa, including Principe, Sao Tome, Fernando Po, Nigeria and Ghana. Between 1925 and 1939, African production expanded to Cameroon, concurrent with its colonization.
Trinitario cocoa was also introduced to Sri Lanka (Ceylan) for the first time in 1834, then reintroduced in 1880. Subsequently, Cocoa was planted in Singapore, the Fijian and Samoan Islands, Tanzania, Madagascar and Java.