“Coca, Cacao, and Chinchona: Medical Marvels and Curiosities from the Iberian New World” Lecture on Monday, November 11

As part of the Ruth and John Moskop History of Medicine Lecture Series, the Medical History Interest Group invites you to attend Coca, Cacao, and Chinchona: Medical Marvels and Curiosities from the Iberian New World on November 11. This lecture, presented by Angela Thompson, Ph.D., History (retired), begins at 4:30p.m. in the Evelyn Fike Laupus Gallery, fourth floor Laupus Library.

The Topic:

When Columbus “bumped” into the lands of the New World, he hoped to find spices and gold. What he found instead in these lands he never understood were “new” were plants and animals unknown in the Old World that would provide an unlimited cornucopia of foods and medicines far more valuable than gold or the spices of Asia. Coca, cacao, and chinchona are just three of these marvels from the New World that have had religious, medicinal, and food value for Native Americans and beyond. This presentation will explore the history of these and other marvelous and curious plants and animals from the New World.

The Speaker:

Angela Thompson recently retired from ECU’s Department of History where she was a professor of Latin American and Atlantic World history for 30 years. She has researched, written, and taught about the history of medicine, disease, food, and public health in the Atlantic World, among other topics.

More Information:

This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided.

The lecture will also feature a pop-up display.

Directions and parking information.

If you’d like to travel by bus from Main Campus, take bus 302 from the Main Campus Student Center to the Allied Health Sciences Building. Click here for the 302 bus schedule.

Lectures may be video recorded.

Learn more about the MHIG lectures and view an archive of previous recordings.