The Jewel in the Crown - the Spice Trade

Those innocent looking spices in your cupboard don’t do much to reveal their incredible history, but did you know that nutmeg was once worth more by weight than gold, that 16th century London dockworkers were paid their bonuses in cloves or that in 410 AD, when the Visigoths captured Rome, they demanded 3,000 pounds of peppercorns as a ransom? In its day, the spice trade was the world’s biggest industry. It established and destroyed empires, led to the foundation of the world’s first multi-national corporation and in many ways helped lay the foundation for the modern world. 

Centuries ago, the sources of spices were a closely guarded secret. Their scarcity generated immense wealth for those who controlled the spice trade. Initially, the transport of spices was carried out mostly by camel caravans over land routes. The legendary ‘Silk Road’ was an important route connecting Asia with the Mediterranean world, including North Africa and Europe. However, the opening of the sea routes between the eastern and western hemispheres by European traders allowed the transport of spices in bulk and with comparatively low tariffs, which led to a reduction in their value. Today spices are inexpensive and widely available. However, the incredible history remains, as does the wonderful variety of exotic flavours, colours and smells that made spices so valuable in the first place. 

Caravan on the Silk Road. 
Credit: from the Catalan Atlas, 1375