PhD Thesis
Title: Cocoa Journeys: The Colonial Origins of the Swiss Chocolate Industry in the late 18th century
Expected Completion Date: September 2026
PhD Supervisor: Davide Rodogno and Amalia Ribi Forclaz
Where does Swiss chocolate come from? What is its history and its origins? Most importantly, what are its colonial implications? These compelling questions have been the cornerstone of my doctoral research at the Geneva Graduate Institute since 2022. My work delves into a particular act of the colonial history of Swiss chocolate, tracing the journey cocoa took from the Caribbean plantations to the Ticino merchant warehouses at the end of the 18th century.
Profile
Letizia Pinoja is a PhD candidate in International History and Politics at the Geneva Graduate Institute. She holds a Master’s degree in International History and Politics from the same institution and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Geneva.
Her doctoral research investigates the colonial history of Swiss chocolate from the late eighteenth century onwards, tracing the global entanglements of cocoa and their impact on Switzerland. After serving as a teaching assistant, she is currently a research assistant in the SNF-funded project Chemical Crossroads: Agrarian Transitions, Pesticide Controversies and International Governance, 1940–1970, led by Professor Amalia Ribi Forclaz.
Alongside her academic work, Letizia is committed to merging scholarly research with public-facing projects in order to bridge academia and wider society, fostering dialogue and spreading knowledge beyond university walls. She collaborates with stage director and performer Jean-Daniel Piguet at Théâtre La Grange, Université de Lausanne, on a theatrical performance exploring the colonial history of Swiss cocoa and its legacies in the lives of Swiss citizens. The production will premiere in spring 2026.
Publications and Works
- Panellist - “Cocoa Journeys: The Colonial Origins of the Swiss Chocolate Industry in the 18th century” within the panel The Invisibilised History of Chocolate and Cacao Trade, Swiss History Days, (8-11 July 2025)
- Guest Speaker – Choc! La Friandise des Dieux, Theatre Grütli, Geneva (May 2025)
- Guest Speaker – Sweet Extractivism, Istituto Svizzero, Rome (Apr 2025)
- Workshop participant – Les fondations micro-historiques du capitalisme, Geneva (Feb 2025) L'Institut d'Histoire Économique Paul Bairoch (IHEPB), University of Geneva in collaboration with Atelier du Programme doctoral en histoire contemporaine
- Participant – Europaeum Summer School: Marginalised Histories – Cultural Heritage and Archives, St Andrews (Aug 2024)
- Guest Speaker – MEG Salon – “Le chocolat, le colonialisme... et la Suisse?”, Geneva (Jun 2024)
- Advisor – Lausanne Coloniale Exhibition, MHL, Lausanne (Mar–Oct 2024)
- Panellist – “How much colonialism is there in Swiss chocolate?” Schoggi Festival, Zurich (Mar 2024)
- Panelist – ETH Zurich Colloquium (Apr 2023): Geschichte der modernen Welt, ETH, chaired by Professor Harald Fischer-Tiné
- Interview – BBC (Aug 2024) Have Swiss scientists made a chocolate breakthrough? (27.08.2024)
- Guest – Mille Voci, RSI
- Articles – The Conversation
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Swiss colonial history
- Racism and its historical roots in Switzerland
- The history of food