The pirate beverages: wines, rum, pisco, and chocolate (Caribbean and South Pacific, 1680-1712)

Abstract

The link between pirates and four beverages: rum, wine, pisco, and chocolate is examined based on the chronicles and memoirs of the pirates themselves and on their voyages through the Caribbean and the Pacific coasts of the Americas. A bidirectional interaction is detected: these products influenced the pirates and, at the same time, the pirates influenced them contributing to their visibility, promotion, diffusion, and patrimonialization. Among other effects, the pirates contributed to the globalization of rum by joining the British navy and demanding daily rations of this spirit. They also took the first Peruvian piscos to the Atlantic and the Caribbean while promoting the creation of Chilean pisco. They also established a hierarchy of wines in Chile and Peru according to quality and prestige. Finally, the pirates established a strong affinity for the cocoa of the Kingdom of Quito, which they recognized as the best in the world.