Chili Pepper's Arrival in the Old World

Timeline

1. 1492–1493Hispaniola · HispaniolaColumbus recorded the pungent fruit the locals called ají in the Caribbean, mistakenly comparing it to black pepper. He brought it back to the Spanish court in 1493. Chili can be grown in temperate gardens, unlike pepper vines that grow only in the tropics, giving it ecological conditions for rapid spread.
2. 1500–1540Brazilian coast to the Gulf of Guinea and Goa · Gulf of GuineaAfter Cabral reached Brazil, the Portuguese encountered local chilies (quiya etc.) and trial-planted them along Atlantic islands and African trading posts. By the mid-16th century, chili had reached Goa, Ceylon and Malacca with supply ships and settlers, naturalizing quickly in the tropical monsoon climate as a pungent seasoning easier to produce locally than imported black pepper.
3. 1540–1550Goa and Indian Ocean coasts · IndiaIn the 1540s–1550s, chili peppers became common in gardens in West Africa, India and parts of Southeast Asia, entering local cuisines and medical records. European gardens also grew them widely. Because they could be harvested on site, they reduced some long-distance demand for Malabar black pepper while creating new dried-chili and seedling trades, reshaping Old World seasoning patterns.