Spices are a wondrous entity. Spices have managed to captivate humans not only with their ability to season foods and mask unpleasant tastes, but also their medicinal properties. As a matter of fact, this captivation was so deep, the world economy was carved from spice trade routes. Primary spice producing nations being in Asia were well cut off to the West; hence Arab traders took these spices along with other knowledge and discoveries to them via the Red Sea. The Arabs had a formidable monopoly on the trade, they would often spread tales of how difficult it was to acquire spices, to keep the competition away. An anecdote by Herodotus states the “method” used by the Arabians to acquire Cinnamon:
“Great birds, they say, bring the sticks which we Greeks call cinnamon, and carry them up into the air to make their nests. The Arabians, to get the cinnamon, use the following artifice. They cut all the oxen and beasts of burden that die in their land into large pieces and place them near the nests: then they withdraw to a distance, and the old birds, swooping down, seize the pieces of meat and fly with them up to their nests; which not being able to support the weight, break off and fall to the ground. Here upon the Arabians return and collect the cinnamon, which is afterwards carried from Arabia to other countries. (Parry 38)”
Not only were spices safeguarded by such lores, but even had wars fought over and were highly valued commodities. Black peppercorns were utilised as a currency, multiple European towns kept their accounts in pepper and some landlords would get paid in “peppercorn rent”.The way the Arab traders spun tall tales of the spices’ acquisition helped maintain their high resource value.
However, the Arabians could not keep their trade secrets forever. In 1498, when Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama landed on the Malabar coast in India, after a long voyage via the Cape of Good Hope, the start of direct trading of spices began. The Portuguese soon began to take the Arab Middleman’s control away from the spice trade in Europe, and they did not hesitate to assert their dominance. Other powers in Europe soon began to start trading themselves, the most prominent being the Dutch.
The Dutch began to monopolise Nutmeg trade. Nutmeg was a common commodity in the Asian markets but was highly valuable in Europe. There was only one source for the fruit, Banda Island of Indonesia which was ruled by the Dutch East India Company. The company exhibited similar paranoia over protecting its status in the trade to the Arabs. Stringent rules banning the export of trees, as well as the export of fertile seeds (the nutmeg was drenched in lime before export to render them infertile), were imposed. The Company head ordered a massacre on the villagers when they rebelled against the rules. Wars were fought between the Spanish, Dutch, and Portuguese over the Dutch East India Company’s control over nutmeg trade as well.
India’s climate is ideal for growing a range of spice crops. Spices such as Turmeric, Cumin, and Cardamom that require vastly different conditions could easily grow on the vast Indian Subcontinent’s climatic conditions. This made the country a vital cog in the global spice economy. India also proved to be a battleground for the European traders, with multiple wars being fought in the name of trade as well as territorial control. The English East India Company proved to be the power, which unraveled into a long history of its own.
It’s hard to believe that a simple flavouring like pepper or nutmeg in our food was once valued higher than gold and silver. It’s even harder to believe that wars were fought over commonly used spices like Nutmeg. But by far the most interesting take back from spice trade was how it slowly began to shape what is now our modern economy.
The Dutch East India Company was the first ever company to offer equity shares of its business to the public, making it the world’s first IPO. The constant demand for spices in the west helped keep the trade constant and tightly knit. The East India Companies were the biggest players in the global stock markets at the time. Spice trade not only shaped the economy, but marked the beginning of a new era of global trade.
If the modern economy had a definitive beginning, it would be hand in hand with the spice trade routes.
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