Columbus Day 2007
In 1991 I arrived by boat to Ternate in northern Indonesia. The volcanic island was a backwater, but back in the 15th Century European nations sought the quickest route to this destination for its treasured cloves and spices. Hoping to be first to reach the fabled island, Christopher Columbus set sail west across the Atlantic Ocean and arived safely in the Carribean, which he called the West Indies to promote future expeditions.
Columbus’ first voyage was remarkable, as he was traveling through unknown waters and only lost one ship, the SANTA MARIA. No men died in that sinking, however the 39 men awaiting his return to Hispaniola were massacred by Carib warriors who detested the newcomers’ boorish behavior, thus initiating the long conflict between Europe and the New World.
Christopher Columbus carried little gold back to the Spainish sovereigns, but did introduce corn, manioc or cassava, potato, the peanut, tomato, papaya, pineapple, avocado, chili pepper, cotton and cocoa to the Old World. It took about 30 years for the chili to reach Thailand, which adopted the fiery spice as its own.
Columbus is no longer considered to be a hero by some, but I still celebrate his discovery of the Bahamas with rum and coke. No one else did in Pattaya, but any Thai woman eating som tam should be grateful for his discovery of the chili.
For a related article click on this URL
http://www.mangozeen.com/londoner-flee-chili-cloud-chaos.htm
