Category: Rosarie Salerno

The ancient Maya and Aztecs chewed gum, made from the natural latex of Chicle, which comes from the Sapodilla tree. The latex was harvested by cutting Xs and zigzags in the bark, capturing the liquid that comes out and runs down...

August 10, 1644–March 15, 1711 Within 50 years of Columbus’s discovery of the Americas, Spanish Conquistadors overpowered the Native people and their lands. After their conquest, Spain’s aim was to make taxpaying citizens out of...

One of the methods used by Spain to colonize the Americas was through land-grants given to the Nobility or as a reward for valiant service to men like the Conquistador, Hernando Cortez. These lands were called Haciendas. The...

Mexico’s National Drink Long before the Conquistadors arrived in the new world the sweet juice from the heart of the agave plant was fermented in a drink called Pulque. This precursor of tequila was used by the Aztecs as a...

Besides pepper and cloves there was a third spice that helped usher in the discovery of the Americas and an alternate route to the East that previously had only been accessible by a long overland journey on the Silk Road;...

The name of the spice known as clove, comes from the French word, clou, meaning nail. Cloves are aromatic dried flower buds from an evergreen tree native to the Maluku Islands located in Indonesia, historically referred to as...

Black pepper is said to have changed the course of history. For thousands of years, Old World traders traveled to India, China and Southeast Asia for it; creating great fortunes for the countries who controlled the trade routes:...

Have you ever asked yourself what was the opportunistic motivation for Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, in 1492 CE, to fund Christopher Columbus’   ocean voyage to the west? In one word...

Years before the official abolishment of the Repartimiento in 1720 CE, this economic system was on its way out. Repartimiento was dependent upon the available Indio population of forced labor by the Spanish. Many natives were...

One of the methods used by Spain to colonize the Americas was through land-grants given to the Nobility or as a reward for valiant service to men like the Conquistador, Hernando Cortez. These lands were called Haciendas. The...