How the expulsion of a Mexican disgraced general led to the creation of chewing gum

Two years before he died old and broken, the disgraced Mexican general Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna lived in a modest residence on Staten Island. To some, he was known as the "Napoleon of the West"; for others, he was the man who lost Texas, a cruel dictator.

Santa Anna hoped that the supply of chikla, a natural resin collected from trees in the same way as rubber, would make it rich.
He suggested that Thomas Adams, the local entrepreneur who worked for him as a translator, come up with this unusual substance to make an inexpensive replacement for rubber. Nothing came of this. After the last time Lopez de Santa Anna left for Mexico and left the number on Adams, he turned the resin into what we call modern chewing gum.

Photograph by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, 1853

Santa Anna was born in 1794 into an aristocratic family in Veracruz, Mexico. Its conflicting nature manifested itself in adolescence. At first he fought on the side of the Spanish colonial army, was wounded, advanced through the ranks, but after a while his political views changed. Over time, Santa Anna received the rank of general and helped the rebels topple his former colonial comrades. Like many generals who led the revolution, his next step on the career ladder led him to become a dictator, becoming the eighth president of Mexico after many years of struggle for independence and power.

To enhance his political image, the general used propaganda tricks. He arranged a state funeral for his amputated leg, which he lost in battle. Later, his wooden prosthesis also became an object of increased attention. The famous American showman F.T. Barnum demonstrated it in his museum as a military trophy. All these methods worked well and made the general popular among the people. His supporters were praised as the "founder of the republic."

For the time being, his habit of chewing on a chickle did not attract much attention. After all, in the end, chewing the resin of the sapodilla oil tree on the Yucatan Peninsula was a common occurrence for those born there. Following the ancient Mayan traditions, people have been collecting sapodilla resin for centuries, making zigzag cuts with a machete. The resin of the tree was odorless and tasteless; it was an ancient form of chewing gum.

Santa Anna became president of Mexico at least 11 times. He knew how to solve problems, if he was interested in this. In order to gain power, the general first advocated independence, but one day he told the American ambassador: "And in a hundred years my people will not be fit for freedom ... Unenlightened. So they are." He increasingly lost the support of society.

A decisive blow to his reputation was the loss of large territories in Texas and the United States. Nevertheless, he never lost his sense of historical significance. Captured at the Battle of San Jacinto, he warned his jailers: "Remember this moment forever. Those who captured the" Napoleon of the West "may consider themselves elected, they have a special fate."

Forced to go into exile in the 1850s, Santa Anna traveled to Cuba, Colombia, Jamaica, met with Secretary of State William Seward, and perceived this meeting as support from the United States. He immediately went to New York and became convinced that the Americans were not particularly needed. In addition, there he was embroiled in a long lawsuit, which took all his money from him.

But, fortunately, it was then that he brought with him a huge supply of chickle. Having lost money, the general settled among the modest hard workers and fishermen, met with a local merchant and part-time translator Thomas Adams. This entrepreneur did everything to feed seven children. Santa Anna persuaded and persuaded him to come up with a basis for the cheap option to replace the expensive rubber used in the manufacture of tires. "It will make us rich!" - persuaded the general.

And so it happened. But not during the life of the general. Thomas Adams and his son did a long experiment with the cycle. But nothing worked out. A frustrated general penniless returned to Mexico and died two years later. As soon as Santa Anna moved into the best of the worlds, Adams had a great idea. The entrepreneur spent $ 30,00 on turning the bike into cheap rubber and almost gave up. But once, standing at the pharmacy, I noticed how a young girl was buying chewing gum. After some time, another customer came up with the same request, and then again and again.

Adams chewing gum advertisement

Surprised, Adams and sons decided to weld a few balls of the chickle and put them up for sale. The balls were odorless, but still sold well. In 1859, Adams Sons & Company was founded. As soon as the inventor added flavorings to chewing gum, sales went at a frantic pace.

By the late 1800s, the Adams Sons & Company had become a conglomerate called the American Chicle Company, which employed more than 300 people at the world's largest chewing gum factory, not far from Brooklyn Bridge. Chewing gum has become so popular that in a magazine article, the great scientist Nikola Tesla argued that excessive chewing of gum is more dangerous than alcohol abuse.

Adams continued to actively develop his business. Gum machines were installed in every pharmacy. The popular Adams Tutti Frutti fragrance formed the basis for the production of chewing gum and spawned the powerful $ 19 billion industry we know today.

Perhaps, after all, the general was right when he told his friends that a meeting with him would make their fate exceptional.