How cochineal became a dye trade good

In his 1865 account, Frank Cowan calls cochineal a valuable dye material obtained from an insect found on the Mexican nopal, or tuna^[1]. He reports that Spaniards encountered it around 1518 and that, in 1523, the Spanish ministry ordered Cortés to encourage its production; Cowan says it subsequently became a trade good^[2]. He does not settle whether Indigenous Mexicans had used cochineal before the Spanish arrived: he records conflicting accounts on that point. He also notes that some Europeans disputed whether cochineal came from insects at all^[3][4].

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