In a phenomenon historian David Courtwright termed the "psychoactive revolution," the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries witnessed the globalisation of drugs, transforming them from regional curiosities into essential parts of daily life around the world. [1] While the rise of global trade in the early modern era is often attributed to newly established connections and exotic commodities, factors beyond simple profit and transportability determined a substance's success. One such example is peyote, a psychoactive cactus native to Central America. Despite its ease of cultivation and transport, peyote never achieved widespread globalisation.
Cultural frameworks and challenges associated with the distribution of mind-altering substances have increasingly been explored by scholars of this period. Benjamin Breen emphasised the impact of social and religious codes on the globalisation of Native American drugs like ayahuasca and peyote, illustrating their significance within broader early modern themes such as imperialism and the modernisation of commercial and political systems. [2] Matthew Romaniello and Lauren Working explored the cultural dimensions of tobacco's evolution from a foreign plant to a cash crop, focusing on its integration with the Western humoral system, gender-related aspects of tobacco use, and its transformation from an indigenous product to a staple of Western urban life. [3] Marcy Norton highlighted chocolate's role in examining power dynamics and cultural transmission in colonial settings, demonstrating its importance in understanding the complexities of early modern globalisation. [4]
By examining peyote, tobacco, and chocolate as case studies of successful and unsuccessful globalisation, this essay contributes to the scholarship of Breen, Working, and Norton. It demonstrates how drugs can illuminate the religious and cultural frameworks of early modern globalisation. Additionally, through a comparative analysis of tobacco's dissemination in early modern Russia and China, it highlights the limitations of using drug history to draw comprehensive conclusions about the emergence of global trade.
Peyote’s trails and Christianity
Today, the word "drug" carries negative connotations, implying something harmful, addictive, and often illegal. In contrast, the early modern period used the term more neutrally, encompassing a wider range of commodities like chocolate, coffee, alcohol, tobacco, and opiates. [5] Before commercialisation, many commodities blurred the lines between food, medicine, and mind-altering substances. People believed these items all possessed the power to influence and alter the body. [6] Due to the power dynamics of early modernity, the dissemination of drugs recognised for their medical benefits was conditioned by their adaptation to European mindsets, particularly their compatibility with Christianity. Colonised territories were abundant with substances that had unique spiritual contexts and practices, distinct from those of the colonisers. The globalisation of hallucinogens used in religious rituals, such as ayahuasca and peyote, was significantly affected by these religious biases.
In Amerindian rituals, peyote held high value for its ability to induce visions. These visions, believed to hold prophetic power, could offer insights into future events like weather patterns. Additionally, peyote was sometimes used in rituals to help identify the culprit behind a theft. [7] Western medicine, steeped in Hippocratic and Galenic traditions, struggled to accept plants for anything beyond curing ailments, poisoning enemies, or basic sustenance. [8] Moreover, peyote rituals did not reference Christ or his influence, contrasting sharply with Christian revelations. The ability to see and predict the future through the ingestion of a plant was therefore deemed superstitious and idolatrous. Rather than viewing it as a natural phenomenon, Europeans often considered it a deception orchestrated by Satan. [9]
Accordingly, Pérez de Ribas, a Spanish Jesuit, described the use of peyote in Coahuila (North Mexico) as bringing ‘diabolical fantasies.’ [10] The Inquisition prohibited the use of peyote in 1620 due to its perceived conflict with the purity and integrity of the Catholic faith. [11] Any use or distribution of the drug was absolutely prohibited, with transgressors facing penalties equivalent to those imposed for heresy. [12] In contrast, Indigenous populations, particularly the Chichimeca, continued to revere and consume peyote. It became a powerful tool in their resistance to Christianisation, persisting in religious ceremonies in northern Mexico well into the late eighteenth century.[13] Therefore, peyote's potential for global commerce and dissemination was thwarted in favour of prioritizing the spread of Christianity.
Tobacco, Medicine and Commodification
Not all drugs entangled in demonic discourse failed to achieve global acceptance. Tobacco, despite its Native American origins and initial negative perception, became widely popular due to its other properties, such as being a fumigant and a non-spiritual cure for diseases. Even as debates ensued over whether tobacco could alter European bodies and make them more like Native Americans, the substance adapted well to the European humoral system and was classified as having a dry heating effect on the body. [14] Nicholás Monardes' assertions that tobacco could treat a wide range of illnesses, particularly those caused by excess moisture, cold, or phlegm, led physicians to embrace the substance. [15] With the discovery of less potent strains of tobacco, its hallucinogenic effects became less accessible. Instead of being preoccupied with demonic associations, people's values shifted to focus on tobacco's psychoactive and medical properties. [16] The study of peyote and tobacco offers profound insights into how Christianity influenced the globalisation of drugs, highlighting the interplay between religious beliefs and the acceptance or rejection of various substances across cultures.
Tobacco's original cultural meanings were also transformed to meet European demands. Native rituals, deemed savage, had to be desacralised or erased, leaving only the raw materials. Tobacco was then infused with new meanings and associations to integrate and 'civilize' it within European society. [17] In early modern England, the habit of smoking tobacco was popularised by Sir Francis Drake and Walter Raleigh, whose status as English explorers and heroes became intertwined with the image of pipe smokers. [18] Among the elites, publications such as Henry Butts’ Dyets's dry dinner attempted to incorporate tobacco into formal dining etiquette as the last course following fruits, fish, white meats etc. [19] A similar transformation occurred in the material culture of tobacco, where the status of a gentleman became associated not only with what he smoked but also with the accessories he carried. Intricate engravings of imperial and English heraldic symbols on pipes, pipe cases, and snuff boxes reinforced the idea of English domestication and a sense of ownership over the product. Alongside coffee and chocolate, tobacco became an integral part of the emerging English public sphere, from coffeehouses to social gatherings. [20] The transformation of tobacco from an indigenous substance to an 'English' commodity illustrates the cultural dimension of globalisation, marked by the separation and recontextualization of indigenous substances before their integration into European cultures.
The Taste of Chocolate
In contrast to modern perceptions, early modern people viewed chocolate as much a drug as tobacco. Although the components such as methylxanthine, theobromine, fats, and sugars found in cocoa were not fully understood at the time, it is true that they can stimulate the brain to produce effects similar to opiates. [21] Cocoa was highly valued in Indigenous societies across America and used for medicinal purposes and ceremonial celebrations, like marriages or military victories. [22]
Historically, scholars like Alan Davidson and Sophie and Michael Dobzhansky Coe attributed chocolate's success in Europe and worldwide to its adaptation to fit the European taste palate. This modification of taste promoted widespread consumption through increased familiarity. [23] Unlike tobacco, chocolate drinking did not conform to the conventional distinction between "barbarous" native customs and "civilised" European customs. Enjoyed at social gatherings primarily by the elite, chocolate drinking was likened to wine consumption in Europe. [24] Like other substances of its time, cacao was incorporated into the humoral medical framework and prescribed by Spanish doctors for ailments such as stomach aches, fevers, and indigestion. [25] Originally perceived as bitter and sharp, attributed to the inclusion of chili, the taste of chocolate was appropriated and transformed through sweetening with sugar, cinnamon, milk, and spices such as black pepper and anise, which were not traditionally used by Indigenous populations. [26] Chocolate, similar to tobacco, achieved global success when it was adapted to European practices: its flavour profile was modified, and Western medical discourse supplanted Indigenous symbolism.
Marcy Norton offered a critique of this perspective. She argued that analysing the history of chocolate and its adoption by the Spanish reveals that they did not aim to erase its Indigenous origins or reshape it solely to fit their preferences. The widespread consumption of chocolate originated with Indigenous peoples, and Europeans not only acquired a taste for their methods of chocolate preparation but also endeavoured to replicate them. [27] Norton emphasised that the Spanish internalised Indigenous tastes as a key factor in understanding the subsequent high demand among Europeans for Amerindian stimulants. [28] Despite the victories of colonisers over Indigenous societies and the devastating impact of diseases like smallpox on Native Americans, the Spanish remained a minority presence in America during the sixteenth century.
They found themselves immersed in the enduring cultures and practices of the pre-Columbian era, which persisted and surrounded them daily. Indigenous women fostered chocolate consumption as those responsible for food preparation in Spanish-Native American households. As the strategy of conquest through intermarriage advanced, an increasing number of Spaniards grew accustomed to the Amerindian taste for chocolate. [29] At the same time, chocolate became a popular and readily purchasable commodity in both Amerindian village and city marketplaces. Despite these spaces being viewed as native domains, Europeans were also welcomed to attend and participate in the trade of chocolate. [30]
The evolution of chocolate preparation methods stemmed from the challenges posed by long-distance travel, as not all ingredients could be safely transported around the world. With a growing appreciation for chocolate, the Spanish aimed to replicate the experience in Europe rather than radically change it. Sweetening the drink was not a new concept, as it had already been practiced by Native Americans. The substitution of sugar for honey helped preserve the desired taste. Similarly, chili was replaced with black pepper to recreate the original bitterness and spiciness of the drink. [31] The history of chocolate provides valuable insights into the power dynamics of globalisation and its cultural complexities. It underscores that colonisation was not a unilateral process; interactions between colonisers and the colonised led to the incorporation of Native American cultures into Spanish culture and their subsequent dissemination worldwide.
The Limitations
While studying the dissemination of drugs offers valuable insights into globalisation processes and the dynamics of power, it also has its limitations. These limitations become evident when over-generalisations occur, potentially creating a distorted view of the global landscape. This issue is particularly pronounced when examining the state of globalisation in early modern Russia and China through the lens of tobacco trade. During the late Ming and Qing periods, tobacco was imported into China by maritime traders from various regions worldwide. By the early 1600s, tobacco had become firmly established as a commercial crop, particularly in the coastal regions of Fujian, despite initial regulatory measures by the administration. [32] Within twenty years, tobacco had been successfully acclimatised and integrated into China's exports, particularly to regions inhabited by Mongols, Uzbeks, and Kazakhs.
This development not only contributed to government revenue but also bolstered trade opportunities for merchants. [33] Yellow flower tobacco, notably linked to the region of Lanzhou, became a prised local commodity across Eurasian territories, almost attaining native status despite its non-Indigenous origins. Contrary to widespread belief, it did not originate on the continent but was introduced to China by European traders who encountered it through interactions with Amerindian farmers. The renowned Lanzhou strain can be traced back to the Andes region. [34] China's pivotal role in the early modern global trade system is underscored by its extensive involvement in the tobacco trade.
In contrast, Muscovite Russia appears isolated from the global tobacco economy. Because of their orthodox religious approach and opposition to foreign markets, the Russian authorities opposed tobacco for centuries. Foreign customs and habits, which were perceived as chaotic, were opposed by the Muscovite doctrine. [35] The lack of biblical references to tobacco led Muscovy, which country centred its identity around the church, to stronger opposition. Tobacco possession became illegal and in some cases was punishable by death. [36] This does not imply that tobacco was non-existent in its territories. It was smuggled but its significance remained minimal because opposition to tobacco extended beyond the authorities to the general population. Despite Peter the Great legalizing the tobacco trade in an attempt to modernize Russia, it ultimately became a tool used in opposition to the Tsar's politics. [37] Due to Russia's orthodox approach and opposition to foreign markets, until the nineteenth century, the tobacco trade did not reach the cultural and economic significance it did in other parts of the world.
Based on the trade of tobacco, it might initially appear that China played a more significant role in early modern globalisation compared to Russia. However, such a broad generalisation can lead to misleading conclusions. Robert Brenner's study of early modern London merchants offers a nuanced perspective, revealing Russia's profound integration into the global trade network. London merchants involved with the Muscovite Company, as well as those engaged in trade with the Levant and the East Indies, were also heavily invested in Russia, particularly in the lucrative cloth trade. This interconnectedness highlights Russia's substantial role in early modern global commerce, challenging simplistic comparisons based solely on the tobacco trade. [38]
Furthermore, Maria Salomon Arel's research on the Muscovy Company underscores Russia's pivotal and proactive role in the burgeoning globalised economy of the early modern period. Through their supply of high-quality ship-building materials like flax and hemp, Russia contributed significantly to the prosperity of England's shipbuilding industry. This trade not only facilitated the expansion of England's maritime capabilities but also underpinned sustained intercontinental trade. The superior quality of Russian flax and hemp made them indispensable resources for ship construction, highlighting Russia's crucial economic and strategic importance in the emerging globalised world of the era. [39]
Also notable is Russia's active involvement in the trade of medicinal drugs such as rhubarb and cinchona bark, evidenced by significant shipments from the latter half of the seventeenth century. [40] Despite not participating extensively in the tobacco trade, Russia engaged robustly in the broader early modern medical trade, maintaining connections with Europe, particularly the English and Dutch, as well as with America and Asia. Russian participation in early modern globalisation, while perhaps not as prominent as that of Spain or England, was nevertheless interconnected with global networks. However, an examination of tobacco's history in the region reveals a distinct perspective. When using the history of drugs to illustrate the processes of early modern globalisation, it is crucial to exercise caution and avoid oversimplification. A country's contribution to this transformative process cannot be adequately assessed through the lens of a single product alone.
Conclusion
Historical contexts of drugs enhance our understanding of the globalisation process. The examples of peyote and tobacco demonstrate that the acceptance and commercialisation of stimulants required more than just medical approval; they had to conform to European religious and cultural frameworks. Peyote's hallucinogenic properties, which European colonisers associated with demonism, led to its suppression rather than popularisation. In contrast, tobacco, once stripped of its demonic associations, had to be detached from its indigenous cultural meanings, becoming a raw substance that could be recontextualised and domesticated within European society.
The study of drugs also sheds light on the dynamics of colonisation and cultural adoption. The popularisation of chocolate among the Spanish illustrates that the colonial process was not a one-sided imposition of European culture. Instead, colonisers adopted indigenous tastes and habits, spreading them worldwide. However, using drug history to gain insight into globalisation has limitations. Focusing on one substance alone cannot provide a comprehensive picture. Yet, because drugs played an integral role in early modern society, their stories, when critically analysed, can significantly enrich our understanding of early modern globalisation.
Sandra Liwanowska has just completed an MPhil in the History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine at the University of Cambridge (Clare Hall College).
Notes:
[1] David T. Courtwright, ‘Introduction’, in Forces of Habit : Drugs and the Making of the Modern World (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001), pp. 1-9; Also discussed in Mike Jay, ‘The Psychoactive Revolution’, in High Society: Mind-Altering Drugs in History and Culture (London: Thames & Hudson, 2010), p. 143.
[2] Breen Benjamin, ‘Drugs and Early Modernity’, History Compass, 15.4 (2017), p. 1-9; Breen Benjamin, ‘The Failed Globalisation of Psychedelic Drugs in the Early Modern World’, The Historical Journal, 65.1 (2022), pp. 12-29.
[3] Lauren Working, ‘Tobacco and the Social Life of Conquest in London, 1580-1625’, The Historical Journal, 65.1 (2022), pp. 30-48.; Matthew P. Romaniello, ‘Who Should Smoke? Tobacco and the Humoral Body in Early Modern England’, The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs, 27.2 (2013), pp. 156-173.
[4] Marcy Norton, ‘Tasting Empire: Chocolate and the European Internalisation of Mesoamerican Aesthetics’, The American Historical Review, 111.3 (2006), pp. 660-691.
[5] Breen, ‘Drugs and Early Modernity’, p. 3.
[6] Breen, ‘Drugs and Early Modernity’, p. 3; Courtwright, Forces of Habit, p. 2-3; On the humoral aspects of early modern drug consumption: Phil Withington, ‘Addiction, Intoxicants, and the Humoral Body’, The Historical Journal 65.1 (2022), pp. 68-90.
[7] Omer C. Stewart, ‘Peyote Eaters and Their Ceremonies’, in Peyote Religion: A History (University of Oklahoma Press: Norman, 1987), p. 24-25.
[8] Angélica Morales Sarabia, ‘The Culture of Peyote: Between Divination and Disease in Early Modern New Spain’, in Medical Cultures of the Early Modern Spanish Empire, ed. by John, Slater, Terrada, López, María, Luz, and José, Pardo Tomás (Surrey, England; Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate, 2014), p. 28
[9] Morales Sarabia, Medical Cultures of the Early Modern Spanish Empire, p. 27, 29.
[10] Andrés Pérez de Ribas, ‘Missions of the Central Plateux in Mexico’, in My Life Among the Savage Nations of New Spain, trans. by Tomas Robertson (The Ward Richie Press: Los Angeles, California, 1968), p. 227.
[11] Morales Sarabia, Medical Cultures of the Early Modern Spanish Empire, p. 29-30.
[12] Stewart, Peyote Religion: A History, p. 21.
[13] Philip W. Powell, ‘Warriors in the North’, in Soldiers, Indians & Silver : North America's First Frontier War (Arizona State Univ., Centre for Latin American Studies, 1975), p. 42; Omer C. Stewart, Peyote Religion: A History, p. 26-28.; Peter T. Furst, ‘"Idolatry," Hallucinogens, And Cultural Survival’, in Hallucinogens and Culture (Chandler & Sharp Publishers Date, 1976), p. 19.
[14] Romaniello, ‘Who Should Smoke?’, p. 158-159, 161.; For more on debates about food’s alleged properties to transform Spanish and Indian bodies: Rebecca Earle, ‘Humoralism and the Colonial Body’, in The Body of the Conquistador: Food, Race and the Colonial Experience in Spanish America, 1492-1700 (Critical Perspectives on Empire) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), pp. 41-47.
[15] Nicolás Monardes, Joyfull Newes out of the Newe Founde Worlde, trans. by John Frampton (1577), Fol. 34-35.; Romaniello, ‘Who Should Smoke?’, p. 159.
[16] Courtwright, Forces of Habit, pp. 56-57.
[17] Working, ‘Tobacco and the Social Life of Conquest in London, 1580-1625’, p. 43.
[18] Romaniello, ‘Who Should Smoke?’, pp. 165-166.
[19] Henry Butts, Dyets dry dinner consisting of eight seuerall courses: 1. Fruites 2. Hearbes. 3. Flesh. 4. Fish. 5. whitmeats. 6. Spice. 7. Sauce. 8. Tabacco. All serued in after the order of time vniuersall. By Henry Buttes, Maister of Artes, and fellowe of C.C.C. in C. (Printed in London: By Tho. Creede, for William Wood, and are to be sold at the west end of Powles, at the signe of Tyme, 1599), https://quod.lib.umich.edu/e/eebo/A17373.0001.001?rgn=main;view=fulltext, [Accessed 22 March 2022].
[20] Working, ‘Tobacco and the Social Life of Conquest in London, 1580-1625’, pp. 42, 48.
[21] Norton, ‘Tasting Empire’, p. 668.
[22] Philipe Nondedeo, ‘Cacao in the Maya world: feasts and rituals.’, in ‘Chocolate: Cultivation and Culture in Pre-Hispanic Mexico’, ed. by Margarita de Orellana, Richard Moszka, Timothy Adès, Valentine Tibère, J.M. Hoppan, Philippe Nondedeo, and others, Artes de México, 103, 2011, pp. 73-75.
[23] Alan Davidson, ‘Europeans’ Wary Encounter with Potatoes, Tomatoes, and Other New World Foods,’ in Chilies to Chocolate: Food the Americas Gave the World, ed. by Nelson Foster and Linda S. Cordell (Tucson, Ariz., 1992), p. 3.; Similar views were presented in Sophie Dobzhansky Coe, and Michael Dobzhansky Coe, ‘Encounter and Transformation’, in The True History of Chocolate 3rd. edition (New York: Thames and Hudson Ltd, 2013), pp. 89-103.
[24] Ina Baghdiantz McCabe, ’American Gold: Sugar, Tobacco and Chocolate’, in A History of Global Consumption : 1500-1800 (Oxfordshire, England ; New York, New York: Routledge, 2015), pp. 67.; Marcy Norton, ‘Encountering Novelties’, in Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures: a History of Tobacco and Chocolate in the Atlantic World (Ithaca [New York]; London: Cornell University Press, 2010), p. 55-59; Norton, ‘Tasting Empire’, p. 669.
[25] Amanda Lange, ‘Chocolate preparation and serving vessels in early North America.’, in Chocolate History, Culture, and Heritage, ed. by Louis E. Grivetti, and Howard-Yana Shapiro (John Willey and Sons: Hoboken, NJ, 2009), p. 129; Margaret A. Graham,, and Russell K. Skowronek, ‘Chocolate on the Borderlands of New Spain’, International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 20.4 (2016), p. 649.
[26] Sophie Dobzhansky Coe, Michael Dobzhansky Coe, ‘Encounter and Transformation’, in The True History of Chocolate (New York: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 2013), p. 95.; Norton, ‘Tasting Empire’, p. 684.
[27] Norton, ‘Tasting Empire’, p. 660.
[28] Ibid., p. 670.
[29] Pedro Carrasco, ‘Indian-Spanish Marriages in the First Century of the Colony’, in Indian Women of Early Mexico, ed. by Susan Schroeder and Robert Haskell (Norman, Okla., 1997), p. 88.
[30] Norton, ‘Tasting Empire’, p. 678.
[31] Ibid., pp. 660, 681-684.
[32] Carol Benedict, ‘Early Modern Globalisation and the Origins of Tobacco in China, 1550-1650’, in Golden-Silk Smoke a History of Tobacco in China, 1550-2010, 1st ed. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011), p. 47.
[33] Carol Benedict, ‘Introduction‘, in Golden-Silk Smoke a History of Tobacco in China, 1550-2010, 1st ed. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011), p. 15; Benedict, ‘Early Modern Globalisation and the Origins of Tobacco in China, 1550-1650’, p. 60; Timothy Brook, ‘School for Smoking’, in Vermeer's Hat the Seventeenth Century and the Dawn of the Global World (London: Profile Books, 2009), pp. 119- 123.
[34] Benedict, ‘Early Modern Globalisation and the Origins of Tobacco in China, 1550-1650’, p. 61.
[35] Matthew P. Romaniello, ‘Through the Filter of Tobacco: The Limits of Global Trade in the Early Modern World’, Comparative Studies in Society and History, 49.4 (2007), p. 918-920.
[36] ‘In the past year 1633/34 by the decree of the great Sovereign, Tsar, and Grand Prince of all Russia Mikhail Fedorovich of blessed memory, a strict prohibition on tobacco was enacted in Moscow and in the provincial towns on pain of the death penalty, that Russians and various foreigners were not to keep tobacco in their possession anywhere, to sniff it, or to trade in tobacco.’ - Quoted from Richard Hellie, ‘Chapter 25. Article 11.’, in The Muscovite Law Code (Ulozhenie of 1649, Pt. 1 : Text and Translation) (C. Schlacks Jr.: Irvine, California, 1988), http://individual.utoronto.ca/aksmith/resources/ulozh.html, [Accessed 21 March 2022].
[37] Romaniello, ‘Through the Filter of Tobacco’, p. 929-933.
[38] Robert Brenner, and American Council of Learned Societies, ‘Government Privileges, the Formation of Merchant Groups, and the Redistribution of Wealth and Power, 1550-1640’, in Merchants and Revolution Commercial Change, Political Conflict, and London's Overseas Traders, 1550-1653 (London ; New York: Verso, 2003), p. 79.
[39] Maria Salomon Arel, ‘Introduction’, in English Trade and Adventure to Russia in the Early Modern Era: The Muscovy Company 1603-1649 (Lexington Books: New York 2019), p. 2; Artur Attman, ‘The Russian market in world trade, 1500-1860’, Scandinavian Economic History Review, 29.3 (1981), p. 185.
[40] Clare Griffin, ‘Russia and the Medical Drug Trade in the Seventeenth Century’, Social History of Medicine: The Journal of the Society for the Social History of Medicine, 31.1 (2018), p. 16-17. For more on the history of rhubarb trade and connections it formed between China, Russia and Europe: Clifford M. Foust, Rhubarb: The Wondrous Drug (Princeton University Press: Princeton, New Jersey, 1992).
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