Yerba Mate History:
Since Ayolas’ s colonization failed, Domingo Martínez de Irala got in charge of it and in 1554 he started an expedition to the Guairá lands (now a Brazilian state). Here something called the Spaniard’s attention; it was the natives good health, height and physical strength. The secret for this was that the natives drank an infusion made from the leaves of the caá tree. They sucked the infusion from a natural calabash with the help of “tubes” made from different kinds of canes. According to the guaraní history, their god “tupá” had given the caá tree as a gift for the health and strength of their payés ancestors (kind of quacks).
When this expedition was coming back to Asunción the new habit was expanded and it turned into a vice for everybody. The soldiers spent all their money on the yerba maté. The Spanish Church described the yerba as an evil because of its bewitching origins so it was forbidden.
During the campaign against the maté a friar gave it an aphrodisiac characteristic, in this way he obtained opposite results and made the infusion to become a boom.
Soon they exported yerba maté to benefit the economy as a consequence they created the aborigine slavery. The native’s condition got better in the XVII century under King Philip III’s orders when the missions were created. Their main financial source was the exploitation of the Yerba maté plantations. As time passes by this infusion consolidates all over the population....
Since Ayolas’ s colonization failed, Domingo Martínez de Irala got in charge of it and in 1554 he started an expedition to the Guairá lands (now a Brazilian state). Here something called the Spaniard’s attention; it was the natives good health, height and physical strength. The secret for this was that the natives drank an infusion made from the leaves of the caá tree. They sucked the infusion from a natural calabash with the help of “tubes” made from different kinds of canes. According to the guaraní history, their god “tupá” had given the caá tree as a gift for the health and strength of their payés ancestors (kind of quacks).When this expedition was coming back to Asunción the new habit was expanded and it turned into a vice for everybody. The soldiers spent all their money on the yerba maté. The Spanish Church described the yerba as an evil because of its bewitching origins so it was forbidden.
During the campaign against the maté a friar gave it an aphrodisiac characteristic, in this way he obtained opposite results and made the infusion to become a boom.
Soon they exported yerba maté to benefit the economy as a consequence they created the aborigine slavery. The native’s condition got better in the XVII century under King Philip III’s orders when the missions were created. Their main financial source was the exploitation of the Yerba maté plantations. As time passes by this infusion consolidates all over the population....
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