‘212422, 3:58 PM Spice trade ~ Britannica Online Encyclopedia
spice trade
spice trade, the cultivation, preparation, transport, and
merchandising of spices and herbs, an enterprise of
ancient origins and great cultural and economic
significance.
Seasonings such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger,
display of spices, Istanbul
and turmeric were important items of commerce in the
earliest evolution of trade. Cinnamon and cassia found their way to the Middle East at least,
4,000 years ago. From time immemorial, southem Arabia (Arabia Felix of antiquity) had been
a trading centre for frankincense, myrrh, and other fragrant resins and gums. Arab traders
artfully withheld the true sources of the spices they sold. To satisfy the curious, to protect their
market, and to discourage competitors, they spread fantastic tales to the effect that cassia grew
in shallow lakes guarded by winged animals and that cinnamon grew in deep glens infested
with poisonous snakes. Pliny the Elder (23-79 ck) ridiculed the stories and boldly declared,
“All these tales. ..have been evidently invented for the purpose of enhancing the price of these
commodities.”
‘Whatever part the overland trade routes across Asia
played, it was mainly by sea that the spice trade grew.
‘Arab traders were sailing directly to spice-producing
lands before the Common Era. In East Asia the Chinese
crossed the waters of the Malay Archipelago to trade in
spice market in Old Delhi, India the Spice Islands (the Moluccas or the East Indies).
Ceylon (Sri Lanka) was another important trading point.
In the city of Alexandria, Egypt, revenues from port dues were already enormous when
Ptolemy XI bequeathed the city to the Romans in 80 BCE. The Romans themselves soon
initiated voyages from Egypt to India, and under their rule Alexandria became the greatest
commercial centre of the world. It was also the leading emporium for the aromatic and
pungent spices of India, all of which found their way to the markets of Greece and the Roman
Empire. Roman trade with India was extensive for more than three centuries and then began to
decline, reviving somewhat in the Sth century CE but declining again in the 6th. It had
hitpsswwcbritannica com/prnVartley5S9803
19‘272822, 958 PM spice trade ~ Betamica Ontne Encylopedia
weakened, but not broken, the Arabian hold on the spice trade, which endured through the
Middle Ages.
In the 10th century both Venice and Genoa began to prosper through trade in the Levant. Over
the centuries a bitter rivalry developed between the two that culminated in the naval war of,
Chioggia (1378-81), in which Venice defeated Genoa and secured a monopoly of trade in the
Middle East for the next century. Venice made exorbitant profits by trading spices with buyer-
distributors from northern and western Europe.
Although the origins of spices were known throughout
Europe by the Middle Ages, no ruler proved capable of
breaking the Venetian hold on the trade routes. Near the
end of the 15th century, however, explorers began to
build ships and venture abroad in search of new ways to
Christopher Columbus's fleet reach the spice-producing regions. So began the famed
voyages of discovery. In 1492 Christopher Columbus
sailed under the flag of Spain, and in 1497 John Cabot sailed on behalf of England, but both
failed to find the storied spice lands (though Columbus returned from his journey with many
new fruits and vegetables, including chili peppers). Under the command of Pedro Alvares
Cabral, a Portuguese expedition was the first to bring spices from India to Europe by way of
the Cape of Good Hope in 1501. Portugal went on to dominate the naval trading routes
through much of the 16th century.
The search for alternative trade routes persisted. Ferdinand Magellan took up the quest again
for Spain in 1519 but was killed on Mactan Island in the Philippines in 1521. Of the five
vessels under his command, only one, the Victoria, returned to Spain—but triumphantly so,
with a cargo of spices.
In 1577 the English admiral Francis Drake began his voyage around the world by way of the
Strait of Magellan and the Spice Islands, ultimately sailing the Golden Hind, heavily laden
with cloves from Ternate Island, into its home port of Plymouth in 1580.
For Holland, a fleet under the command of Cornelis de Houtman sailed for the Spice Islands in
1595, and another, commanded by Jacob van Neck, put to sea in 1598. Both returned home
hitpsswwcbritannica com/prnVartley5S9803 29‘2724120, 958 PM shice rade ~ BrtanicnOnine Eneylopeia
with rich cargoes of cloves, mace, nutmeg, and black
pepper. Their success laid the foundation for the
prosperous Dutch East India Company, formed in 1602.
Similarly, the French East India Company was organized
in 1664 by state authorization under Louis XIV. Other
nutmeg and mace
East India companies chartered by European countries
met with varying success. In subsequent struggles to gain control of the trade, Portugal was
eventually eclipsed, after more than a century as the dominant power. By the 19th century,
British interests were firmly rooted in India and Ceylon, while the Dutch were in control of the
greater part of the East Indies.
‘The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Patricia Bauer.
Citation Information
Axticle Title: spice trade
Website Name: Eneyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, In
Date Published: 15 May 2020
URL: hutpsi/Avwwbritannica.combtps:/www:britamnica.com/opie/spice-trade
‘Access Date: December 24, 2022
hitpsswwcbritannica com/prnVartley5S9803
a