In the year 1502, a European discovered the cocoa fruit for the first time. During his fourth expedition, four years before his death, Christopher Colombus, who had left Europe to explore the Central American coast, landed on the island of Guajana, not far from the actual Honduras. Welcomed by the locals, the great navigator from Genova wrote in his diary : "A large boat with 25 rowers came to meet us. Their chief, sheltered by a roof, offered us fabrics, beautiful copper objects and almonds which they used as currency and with which they prepared a drink." Thus occurred the historic meeting between American cocoa and the West. Seventeen years later, April 21, 1519 (Good Friday), an entirely different Western expedition landed at San Juan de Ulua, this as prelude to the invasion led by Herman Cortes of one part of Mexico. In the mind of the Aztecs there is no more doubt: "You'll find here all that you need". But they don't suspect that this prelude will turn into a bloody and criminal conquest.
		Quite soon, cocoa, at first jealously kept by the Spanish, will be coveted by the whole of Europe. It will then be enjoyed in its liquid form and highly appreciated for its nourishing values of all kinds (aphrodisiac, energizing, excellent for digestion and even alleged healing powers).
		It was only from the XVIIIth Century on that commercial boom and technical development jointly put chocolate on the track of industrialization and democratization. Swiss chocolate factories In Corsier, François-Louis Cailler founded in 1819 the first Swiss chocolate factory. Soon after, Philippe Suchard, another Swiss, opened another store in Neuchâtel and thereafter launched an attack on the European market. In 1830, Charles-Amendée Kohler created a new product which will soon make a fortune, hazelnut chocolate. In 1847, the Britol Fry company in England introduced crunch chocolate on the market. Auguste Poulain opened a confectionary-chocolate factory in Blois in 1848. He will prosper with his chocolate slabs. In Bern in 1868, Jean Tobler opened a store which only sold chocolate produced by his Swiss compatriots. But in 1899, he finally decided to start his own factory and the Tobler chocolates, notably the Toblerone, will soon be instrumental in building the reputation of the Swiss chocolate makers beyond the Alps.
			There are other memorable dates in the history of chocolate and Switzerland: in 1875, Daniel Peter invented milk chocolate thanks to his compatriot Henry Nestlé's milk condensation process. The Swiss will from then on remain the leaders of the business. And in 1879, again in Bern, Rodolphe Lindt opened his chocolate factory in which he created the first "fondant" chocolate, also named "couverture", by addition of cocoa butter to the classic chocolate mixture. Mr Lindt also discovered a fundamental process in kneading, mixing and refining the chocolate mass, which is known today as "couchage". This is without a doubt the most important mechanical invention bearing on chocolate quality.
		By thus relating the history of chocolate, its discovery and the technical progress whih punctuated its distribution, one notices that Switzerland, a late comer on the chocolate scene, has in fact become a leader in the business.