Chocolate killed the Bishop--or did it?

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Over on my Other Board (tm), they were discussing the story of the 17th century bishop killed by poisoned chocolate. Apparently this story is widespread over the net.

"A bishop of Chiapas was supposedly assassinated (by poisoned chocolate) because he wouldn't allow the Criollo ladies of Chiapas to drink hot chocolate laced with vanilla and pepper during mass, and threatened to excommunicate anyone who showed up with chocolate."

One of the women on the other board, LR, researched the source of the story (trying to find out which bishop) and determined that it is probably false.

I've asked her if I can post her findings here; in the meantime, I thought I'd ask whether anyone else has heard the story. Oh, and I did a search for "poisoned chocolate" and "poisoned cocoa" on the main page and didn't find anything.

Seaboe

[KathyB]

The story

The seventeenth-century British adventurer Thomas Gage recounted at length how the wealthy women of Chiapa, Mexico, could not endure a full mass and communion without a bolstering cup of hot chocolate. Chiapa's incensed bishop subsequently forbade drinking during services under the penalty of excommunication, prompting gallant men to draw swords against any priest who attempted to forcibly separate a woman from her chocolate. Then, the Chiapan battle over the cocoa bean took a particularly dark turn. The bishop refused to back down, and the local ladies boycotted his mass. Whereupon, the bishop sickened and died a particularly gruesome death. Gage duly reported that the suspected culprit was a gentlewoman who had persuaded a page to serve the bishop a cup of poisoned chocolate. source

This is cited elsewhere as a source for the story Thompson, J. Eric S., ed. and introduction. Thomas Gage’s Travels in the New World. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1958.

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

Originally Posted by KathyB

The story This is cited elsewhere as a source for the story Thompson, J. Eric S., ed. and introduction. Thomas Gage’s Travels in the New World. Norman, Oklahoma: University of Oklahoma Press, 1958.

I know that; however, LR's attempts to identify the bishop indicate that it's not true. The source material from the 17th century lied.

Seaboe

[Seaboe Muffinchucker]

I'm sorry; that last message came out wrong in terms of the impression I meant to give (and it's too late to edit that message).

Yes, I know what the story is; however, it appears that the source material on which the various authors depended had an agenda and that no one who quoted the story bothered to look up the bishops of Chiapa and see if any of them had indeed died mysteriously during the appropriate time frame.

I was also wondering what people thought about the very idea of using chocolate (liquid, in this case) as a carrier for poison.

Seaboe

[jason13]

Bishops of Chiapas, Mexico, along with diocese history.

This page claims Pope Clement XIV was posioned via chocolate.

[VeebleFetzer]

Originally Posted by Seaboe Muffinchucker

I was also wondering what people thought about the very idea of using chocolate (liquid, in this case) as a carrier for poison.

As I understand it, the drinking chocolate of the 17th century was served dark and bitter, and often mixed with spices and other flavourings. So quite a good medium for disguising a poison, I'd have thought.

I mean, it's obviously a terrible thing to do to good chocolate, but if you're determined to commit murder anyway I guess you'll stop at nothing.

[Lainie]

I have read this story, although I don't remember where. It was years ago, and I'd forgotten about it until just now.