In 1526, Oviedo, historian to the Spanish conquistadors, wrote this description of the avocado, “In the center of the fruit is a seed like a peeled chestnut. And between this and the rind is the part which is eaten, which is abundant, and is a paste similar to butter and of very good taste.”

While the discovery of this new fruit was indeed an important event for the first white men to land in Mexico City in 1519, there is evidence of the avocado dating back a much earlier time.  In the  pre-Incan city of Chan Chan, archaeologists discovered a water jug in the shape of an avocado dating back to approximately 900 A.D.

The first written record in English of the use of the word avocado was by Hans Sloane in a 1696 index of Jamaican plants. The plant was introduced to Indonesia in 1750, Brazil in 1809, the Levant in 1908, and South Africa and Australia in the late 19th century

It is widely accepted today that avocados have been cultivated for almost 7000-10000 years in Central and South America, due to several drawings and artifacts dating back to the earliest era of the Aztecs’.

Many travelers to the New World encountered avocados for the first time.  In 1751, George Washington wrote that “agovago pears” were abundant and popular in Barbados.

The name avocado is derived from the Aztec or Nahuatl word “ahuacatl, ” literally translating as “testicle tree.”  This is may be partly due to the fruit’s resemblance to a testicle.  It may also be part of the reason that the Aztecs considered the avocado to be “the fruit of the kings” and consumed it as a sexual stimulant.  Furthermore, Aztec families would not allow their virgin daughters outside of the house during harvesting season because avocados were considered to be a “fertility fruit.”

The Mayans held similar beliefs and considered the avocado to have mystical qualities and aphrodisiac effects following consumption. 

This sexual stigma surrounding avocados carried through to the 19th century.  Up until this point, avocados where neither purchased nor eaten by anyone wishing to uphold a virtuous or chaste appearance.  This forced avocado growers to launch a widespread publicity campaign to try and change the public’s view of the much maligned avocado.

The avocado has been known by many names too, most likely because settlers in the New World had such a hard time pronouncing the Aztec word.  The Spanish called the fruit “abogado,”  the French “avocat,” and the English “avocado” in phonetic interpretations of the Aztec’s “ahuacatl.”

In Chile, Peru and Ecuador it is “palta”, the name given the fruit by the Incas. The Mayans of Guatemala called it “on”, and the Brazilian Indians call one species “omtchon”.

Some other names for avocado are: “avocado pear”, “butter pear”, “alligator pear” and “midshipman’s butter”.  Avocado pears are also sometimes called Alligator pears. Alligator pear probably refers to the skin of the fruit which is dark green, thick, leathery, and bumpy, much like that of an alligator.