When the Spaniards conquered South America, they at first ignored Indian claims that the leaf gave them strength and energy and declared the practice of chewing it the work of the Devil. But after discovering that these claims were true, they legalized and taxed the leaf, taking 10% of the value of each crop. These taxes were for a time the main source of support for the Catholic Church in the region.
Also the not so typical Thanksgiving recipe
posted by bureaustyle on Nov 26, 2004 - 10 comments