A Brief History of Chillies

Few foods have spread across the world as rapidly or completely as the chilli pepper. In under 500 years, it transformed cuisines on every continent.

Origins: South America, 6,000 BCE

Chillies were domesticated in present-day Mexico and Bolivia around 4,000–6,000 BCE. Archaeological evidence of chilli seeds has been found at sites across Central and South America. Several species were cultivated simultaneously: Capsicum annuum (jalapeño, cayenne), Capsicum chinense (habanero, ghost pepper), Capsicum frutescens (tabasco, peri-peri).

The Spanish and Portuguese arrive

Columbus brought chillies to Europe in 1493, mistakenly calling them 'peppers' due to their heat — confusing them with black pepper (Piper nigrum), which was one of the most valuable spices in the world at the time.

Portuguese traders were the key distribution vector. Their trade routes from Brazil through Africa to Asia spread chillies faster than any other food in recorded history.

Africa

Portuguese traders brought chillies to West Africa and East Africa in the early 1500s. Capsicum frutescens — what became the African Bird's Eye or peri-peri — naturalised so thoroughly in southern and eastern Africa that many people still believe it's a native African plant.

Asia

Chillies reached India via Portuguese traders by the 1540s. Within 50 years, they had replaced long pepper and were integral to Indian cooking. China and Korea received chillies by the late 1500s — Korean kimchi and Chinese Sichuan cuisine both transformed.

Today

Chillies are now the world's most widely consumed spice by volume. More than 90% of the world's cuisines use chilli in some form.