Cristobal Colon, a Genoese traveler and persuasive man who, after years of effort, managed to get the Catholic Monarchs to finance a voyage of discovery that sought to reach the Indies by a new route, that of the west.
The expedition had 87 people as the official count, although it is believed that there were as many as 100. They departed in three ships, two of which were caravels about 20 meters long and with a capacity of 60 tons. The third, larger and called Santa Maria, had a capacity of 100 tons. Even today it is strange how such a large number of men traveled in such a small space.
The voyage, from its departure from the port of Palos de la Frontera – Huelva, lasted two months and nine days. At that time, non-stop voyages lasted between 15 and 17 days. For this reason, provisions had to be durable and capable of feeding such a large number of people. To face the voyage they took on board fish, bacon, flour, olive oil, wine, water, cheeses from La Gomera and ‘bizcocho’, an unleavened bread baked several times to eliminate humidity and favor its preservation. For the same reason vinegar was added to water, for example, to increase its shelf life by preventing the proliferation of viruses.
EVOO was used not only as a foodstuff, but also to preserve foodstuffs, such as transported cheeses. It was the only superfood that they transported, although on that trip its properties were not as well known as they are today, the results that its ingestion provided were appreciated.
The discovery of America marked a before and after in history by bringing together two continents that had been separated until then. And EVOO played an active role in this feat.