Chocolate

Definition

In the context of AP US History, chocolate refers to a product derived from cacao beans that was first used by ancient Mesoamerican cultures and later became a significant commodity in global trade.

Related terms

Columbian Exchange: The widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Mercantilism: An economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances. This theory influenced European colonial expansion.

Triangular Trade: A multilateral system of trading in which a country pays for its imports from one country by its exports to another. Used extensively during the Atlantic slave trade.