Small Sweet Peppers (Ajíces Dulces)

18th century image of the pepper plant from "The History, Civil and Commercial, of the British Colonies in the West Indies," (Vol I-II) by Bryan Edwards

"Indian Nectar: A Discourse on Chocolate" by Henry Stubbe

Ajíces dulces, or small sweet peppers, are one of many varieties of Latin American and Caribbean peppers. The kinds of peppers that occur in the wild are hot – the spicy flavor of peppers encountered by Christopher Columbus in the New World led him to call the plant “pepper,” thinking it was related to the black peppercorn plant (which it is not)[1]. Further confusion concerning the pepper ensued when Dutch botanist Nikolaus von Jacquin named and described Capsicum chinense in his book Hortus Botanicus Vindobonensis in 1775, mistakenly believing that the pepper originated in China[2]. Ambiguity concerning the naming of the pepper was present within South America, as well as among Europeans. Henry Stubbe writes, “By the old inhabitants of Hispaniola… it is called Agies … which some otherwise write (according to the variety of spelling) Axi.”[3]In addition to inconsistent spelling, a variety of regional names were used for the pepper. These inconsistencies reveal the absence of a universal understanding of the pepper in 1662, when Stubbe published Indian Nectar. Our small sweet pepper, and its Puerto Rican name ajíces dulces, comes from the name Axi or Agie that Stubbe references.

Not only have the names for ajíces dulces developed over time, but the characteristics and the world’s understanding of this plant have changed, as well. Milder peppers such as ajíces dulces are products of selective breeding: “As is the case in all domesticated plants, the color, shape, flavor, and size were altered considerably under selection by growers.”[4]By 1492, Arawak and Taíno Native Americans had cultivated at least 4 types of peppers[5], which were widely consumed in South America but were not distributed worldwide at the time of Columbus’ journey. Peppers are sensitive to soil alkalinity, richness, and temperature, so manipulating these conditions (intentionally or inadvertently) played a role in the development of the sweet pepper. The variety of peppers developed by the Native Americans were not randomly strewn throughout Latin America: “C. pubescens was a midelevational (2,000-2,500 m) Andean species… C. frutescens and C. chinense were Amazonian, while C. annuum  var. annuum was Mesoamerican.”[6] Different types of peppers were associated with regions of South America where they were grown in the 16^th and 17^th centuries. The simultaneous development of pepper plants in different regions of South America makes it difficult to know the exact origins of this plant. Stubbe writes of the pepper, “Being broken, within the outward husk, or shell, there are two (sometimes three) little grains, which make the impression of a pretty violent heat, yet short of the other Peppers…”[7] Stubbe compares the heat of one pepper species with that of “other Peppers” because he has first-hand knowledge of the large variety of peppers. Perhaps the less hot pepper he describes here is an early ancestor of ajíces dulces.

The dispersal and variety of peppers make their origins ambiguous, but one can see their 17^th century uses through explorers like Henry Stubbe’s first hand experience. In Stubbe’s account Indian Nectar: A Discourse Concerning Chocolata (1662) he discusses the adverse affects chocolate can have on the stomach, and, “since the Indians did first correct it with chiles, or red pepper,”[8], he also details his knowledge of the chile pepper. Although Stubbe's experience is with the hot pepper as opposed to the sweet, his observations are still useful in contextualizing the pepper and tracing the origins of ajíces dulces. As an English physician, Stubbe is particularly interested in the medicinal uses of the pepper: “being swallowed whole, it [the pepper] amends the breath, is excellent against wind, and helps digestion.”[9] Aside from his medical observations, Stubbe warns: “It is so violently strong, as, when one breaks but the skin, it sends out such a vapour into the Lungs, as he falls to coughing, which lasts a quarter of an hour after the fruit is removed…”[10]The presence of this warning reveals that Stubbe’s audience in England did not know enough about the hot pepper to be wary of its heat. Peppers were not as globally used as they are today, but they were beginning to spread throughout the world as an everyday food item: “And in all the inhabited places of America it is so frequently used, that there is scarce any meat dressed without it. This spice the Spaniards love, and will have it in all their meat…”[11] That the Spanish could have a reputation for loving them reveals that by 1662 the knowledge of peppers was beginning to expand beyond South American natives.

 The development of the domestication of the pepper plant can be seen in the image displayed on the left, an ink drawing of a pepper plant found in Bryan Edwards’ A History, Civil and Commercial, of the British Colonies in the West Indies, published in 1794. The artist is unknown, but the inclusion of this image in Edwards’s book reveals that the pepper plant was viewed as a noteworthy aspect of agriculture in the British West Indies by the end of the 18^th century; One of Edwards’ stated goals is, “To furnish a more comprehensive account than has hitherto appeared of the agriculture of the Sugar Islands in general, and of their rich and valuable staple commodities, sugar, indigo, coffee, and cotton in particular…”[12] The presence of this image in a British author's “comprehensive account” of West Indies agriculture indicates that by the time Edwards was writing, peppers were thought of as both a domesticated plant and an established part of trade in the West Indies.

The image shows small, thin, pointed peppers, which resemble the wild pepper, the kind that people today call hot peppers or chili peppers. Ajíces dulces and other sweet peppers are more round than the peppers in this image. The drawing does not include anything other than the pepper plant and the caption, thus the focus of the image could not be any subject other than the pepper plant. This lack of other focus indicates that by the mid-18^th century, the pepper plant was considered significant, but also foreign, enough to be documented in such a manner. The illustration emphasizes the physical characteristics of the plant, including consistent leaf-shapes, visible roots, flowers, and even small peppers that have not yet matured. These details indicate that this image was based on observation and was created to accurately represent a real pepper plant. The inclusion of roots (which are visible due to the lack of ground or surroundings) and the small, undeveloped peppers suggests that this image may have been originally intended for scientific use because it gives information about the growth and ecological aspects of the plant.

In addition to educating the audience, the inclusion of the image of the chili pepper implies that Edwards had first-hand knowledge of this plant. The suggestion that Edwards is writing from his own experience enhances his validity as an author. Edwards was born in England but received an education in France[13], which accounts for the use of an image with the French caption, “Piment ou poivre d'Inde,” meaning “Chile or pepper from the Indies.” The French caption indicates that the artist was most likely French, which again points to the progress the pepper plant had made from the time Stubbe wrote in the mid 17^th century to the time Edwards wrote in the late 18^th century. Over the 100 years that separates the work of each author, the pepper became a global commodity described by Brits, drawn by Frenchmen, and known throughout the world. Our view of peppers as a global commodity is rooted in the spread of the knowledge of peppers from South America to Europe and beyond.