In Russian, the word “pepper” is used to refer to various kinds of plants: real black peppercorns, allspice peas, and capsicum, for example, red hot capsicum (Chile) are also called pepper. This confusion is due to an interesting historical error. As you know, Christopher Columbus discovered America by accident - in fact, the navigator went to India for spices, including black pepper, which was previously brought from Asia. From his journey, Columbus brought the fruits of allspice and capsicum, confusing them with black pepper. However, the new spice was also dubbed "pepper", and over time the name stuck. DETAILED INFORMATION In the Middle Ages, pepper became quite common, but at the same time, a very expensive spice, on which merchants, without exaggeration, made fortunes. The fabulous prices for pepper (which, due to its high cost and value, could even serve as a dowry or bribe) survived until the 17th century - by this time, many kinds of various spices had appeared in Europe, which reduced the importance of pepper. Today it is impossible to imagine almost any dish where this fragrant spice would not be used. Pepper remains the most popular spice consumed by millions of people on a daily basis, so global consumption of pepper is only increasing.