Today, there is a culture focused around eating the spiciest/spicy foods, but how have people treated spicy foods historically? Did they avoid them due to the pain associated with eating them, or have there been cultures that embraced spicy foods?
I think your question might require refinement. Who are you referring to with "people"? Specific cultural/ regional/ historical groupings? Humanity as a whole?
I've got an extension question, if I may. How central was chili in mesoamerican culture/society? What were the earliest records of chili consumption/cultivation in South America, and what cultural significance, if any, was attached to the chili? Did the Spanish have any interest in chili when they interacted with South America?