Cacao y mercado: rentabilidad y consumo del “cacao guayaquil” en Nueva España, 1774–1805. Una comparación con Madrid

Abstract

This article deals with two important aspects of the traffic of cocoa from Guayaquil. It analyzes the profitability for the merchants who deliver their goods to the market in Mexico City in comparison with those who supply the domestic market. Fur-thermore the urban consumption of Mexico City and Madrid is estimated. The hypothesis of the article is that the success of the cocoa from Guayaquil is related to economic factors other than its low price due to inferior quality. It was necessary to use a higher proportion of sugar as a result of the bitter flavour of the cocoa. The outcome of the manufacturing process was that the processed cocoa provided a notable profit for the traders