Thespice trade involved historical civilizations inAsia,Northeast Africa andEurope. Spices, such ascinnamon,cassia,cardamom,ginger,pepper,nutmeg,star anise,clove, andturmeric, were known andused in antiquity and traded in theEastern World.[1] These spices found their way into theNear East before the beginning of the Christian era, with fantastic tales hiding their true sources.[1]
The maritime aspect of the trade was dominated by theAustronesian peoples inSoutheast Asia, namely the ancient Indonesian sailors who established routes from Southeast Asia to Sri Lanka and India (and later China) by 1500 BC.[2] These goods were then transported by land toward the Mediterranean and theGreco-Roman world via theincense route and theRoman–India routes byIndian andPersian traders.[3] The Austronesian maritime trade lanes later expanded into the Middle East and eastern Africa by the 1st millennium AD, resulting in the Austronesian colonization ofMadagascar.
Within specific regions, theKingdom of Axum (5th century BC – 11th century AD) had pioneered theRed Sea route before the 1st century AD. During the first millennium AD,Ethiopians became the maritime trading power of theRed Sea. By this period, trade routes existed fromSri Lanka (the RomanTaprobane) and India, which had acquired maritime technology from early Austronesian contact. By the mid-7th century AD, after therise of Islam, Arab traders started plying these maritime routes and dominated the westernIndian Ocean maritime routes.[citation needed]
Arab traders eventually took over conveying goods via theLevant andVenetian merchants toEurope until the rise of theSeljuk Turks in 1090. Later theOttoman Turks held the route again by 1453 respectively. Overland routes helped the spice trade initially, but maritimetrade routes led to tremendous growth in commercial activities to Europe.[citation needed]
The trade was changed by theCrusades and later the EuropeanAge of Discovery,[4] during which the spice trade, particularly inblack pepper, became an influential activity for European traders.[5] From the 11th to the 15th centuries, the Italianmaritime republics ofVenice andGenoa monopolized the trade between Europe and Asia.[6] TheCape Route from Europe to the Indian Ocean via theCape of Good Hope was pioneered by the Portuguese explorer navigatorVasco da Gama in 1498, resulting in new maritime routes for trade.[7]
This trade, which drove world trade from the end of theMiddle Ages well into theRenaissance,[5] ushered in an age of European domination in the East.[7] Channels such as theBay of Bengal served as bridges for cultural and commercial exchanges between diverse cultures[4] as nations struggled to gain control of the trade along the many spice routes.[1] In 1571 the Spanish opened the first trans-Pacific route between its territories of the Philippines and Mexico, served by theManila Galleon. This trade route lasted until 1815. The Portuguese trade routes were mainly restricted and limited by the use of ancient routes, ports, and nations that were difficult to dominate. The Dutch were later able to bypass many of these problems by pioneering a direct ocean route from theCape of Good Hope to theSunda Strait inIndonesia.
People in theIndian Ocean andIsland Southeast Asia traded inspices,obsidian,seashells,gemstones and other high-value materials as early as the 10th millennium BC. The first to mention the trade in historical periods are theancient Egyptians. In the 3rd millennium BC, they traded with theLand of Punt, which is believed to have been situated in an area encompassing northernSomalia,Djibouti,Eritrea and theRed Sea coast ofSudan.[8][9]
The spice trade was initially associated with overland routes, but maritime routes proved to be the factor that helped the trade grow.[1] The first true maritime trade network in theIndian Ocean was by theAustronesian peoples ofMaritime Southeast Asia.[10] They established trade routes withSouth India andSri Lanka from around 1500 BC to 600 BC, ushering an exchange of material culture (likecatamarans,outrigger boats,lashed-lug boats,sewn boats, andsampans) andcultigens (likecoconuts,sandalwood,bananas, andsugarcane), as well as spicesendemic to theMaluku Islands (cloves andnutmeg). It also connected the material cultures of India and China later on via the Maritime Silk Road.Ethnic groups in Indonesia in particular were trading in spices (mainlycinnamon andcassia) withEast Africa usingcatamaran and outrigger boats and sailing with the help of thewesterlies in the Indian Ocean. This trade network expanded to reach as far asAfrica and theArabian Peninsula, resulting in theAustronesian colonization of Madagascar by the first half of the first millennium AD. It continued into historic times, later becoming theMaritime Silk Road.[11][12][10][13][14][15][16][17]
In the first millennium BC,Arabs,Phoenicians, and Indians were also engaged in sea and land trade in luxury goods such as spices, gold, precious stones, leather of exotic animals, ebony and pearls. Maritime trade was in theRed Sea and the Indian Ocean. The sea route in the Red Sea was fromBab-el-Mandeb toBerenice Troglodytica inUpper Egypt, from there inland to theNile, and then by boat toAlexandria.Luxury goods like Indian spices,ebony,silk and finetextiles were traded along the overlandIncense Route.[1]
In the second half of the first millennium BC thetribes of South and West Arabia took control over the land trade of spices fromSouth Arabia to theMediterranean Sea. These establishedMa'in,Qataban,Hadhramaut,Sheba, andHimyar. In the north, theNabateans took control of the trade route that crossed theNegev fromPetra toGaza. The trade enriched these tribes.South Arabia was calledEudaemon Arabia (the elated Arabia) by theancient Greeks and was on the agenda ofAlexander the Great before he died. Indians and the Arabs controlled the sea trade with India. In the late second century BC, theGreeks from thePtolemaic dynasty ofEgypt learned from the Indians how to sail directly fromAden to the west coast of India using the monsoon winds (as didHippalus) and took control of the sea trade via Red Sea ports.[18]
Spices are discussed in biblical narratives, and there is literary evidence for their use in ancient Greek and Roman society. There is a record fromTamil texts of Greeks purchasing large sacks of black pepper from India, and many recipes in the 1st-centuryRoman cookbookApicius make use of the spice. The trade in spices lessened after thefall of the Western Roman Empire, but demand forginger, black pepper,cloves,cinnamon, andnutmeg revived the trade in later centuries.[19]
Rome played a part in the spice trade during the 5th century, but this role did not last through the Middle Ages.[1] The rise of Islam brought a significant change to the trade asRadhanite Jewish and Arab merchants, particularly fromEgypt, eventually took over conveying goods via theLevant toEurope. At times, Jews enjoyed a virtual monopoly on the spice trade in large parts of Western Europe.[20]
The spice trade had brought great riches to theAbbasid Caliphate and inspired famous legends such as that ofSinbad the Sailor. These early sailors and merchants would often set sail from the port city ofBasra and, after many ports of call, would return to sell their goods, including spices, inBaghdad. The fame of many spices such asnutmeg andcinnamon are attributed to these early spice merchants.[21][failed verification]
The Indian commercial connection with South East Asia proved vital to the merchants of Arabia andPersia during the 7th and 8th centuries.[22] Arab traders — mainly descendants of sailors fromYemen andOman — dominated maritime routes throughout the Indian Ocean, tapping source regions in theFar East and linking to the secret "spice islands" (Maluku Islands andBanda Islands). The islands ofMolucca also find mention in several records: a Javanese chronicle (1365) mentions the Moluccas andMaloko, and navigational works of the 14th and 15th centuries contain the first unequivocal Arab reference to Moluccas. Sulaima al-Mahr writes: "East ofTimor [wheresandalwood is found] are the islands ofBandam and they are the islands where nutmeg and mace are found. The islands ofcloves are calledMaluku ....."[23]
Moluccan products were shipped to trading emporiums in India, passing through ports likeKozhikode inKerala and throughSri Lanka. From there they were shipped westward across the ports of Arabia to the Near East, toOrmus in thePersian Gulf andJeddah in theRed Sea and sometimes toEast Africa, where they were used for many purposes, including burial rites.[24] TheAbbasids used Alexandria,Damietta,Aden andSiraf as entry ports to trade with India and China.[25] Merchants arriving from India in the port city of Aden paid tribute in form ofmusk,camphor,ambergris andsandalwood toIbn Ziyad, thesultan ofYemen.[25]
Indian spice exports find mention in the works of Ibn Khurdadhbeh (850), al-Ghafiqi (1150), Ishak bin Imaran (907) and Al Kalkashandi (14th century).[24] Chinese travelerXuanzang mentions the town ofPuri where "merchants depart for distant countries."[26]
From there, overland routes led to the Mediterranean coasts. From the 8th until the 15th century,maritime republics (Republic of Venice,Republic of Pisa,Republic of Genoa,Duchy of Amalfi,Duchy of Gaeta,Republic of Ancona andRepublic of Ragusa[27]) held a monopoly on European trade with the Middle East. The silk and spice trade, involvingspices,incense,herbs,drugs andopium, made these Mediterranean city-states extremely wealthy. Spices were among the most expensive and in-demand products of the Middle Ages, used inmedicine as well as in the kitchen. They were all imported from Asia and Africa. Venetian and other navigators of maritime republics then distributed the goods through Europe.
TheRepublic of Venice had become a formidable power and a key player in the Eastern spice trade.[28] Other powers, in an attempt to break the Venetian hold on spice trade, began to build up maritime capability.[1] Until the mid-15th century, trade with the East was achieved through theSilk Road, with theByzantine Empire and theItalian city-states ofVenice andGenoa acting as middlemen.
The first country to attempt to circumnavigate Africa was Portugal, which had, since the early 15th century, begun to explore northern Africa underHenry the Navigator. Emboldened by these early successes and eyeing a lucrative monopoly on a possible sea route to theIndies, the Portuguese first rounded theCape of Good Hope in 1488 on an expedition led byBartolomeu Dias.[29] Just nine years later in 1497, on the orders ofManuel I of Portugal, four vessels under the command of navigatorVasco da Gama continued beyond to the eastern coast of Africa toMalindi and sailed across theIndian Ocean toCalicut, on theMalabar Coast inKerala[7] inSouth India — the capital of the localZamorin rulers. The wealth of theIndies was now open for the Europeans to explore; thePortuguese Empire was the earliest European seaborne empire to grow from the spice trade.[7]
In 1511,Afonso de Albuquerque conqueredMalacca for Portugal, then the center of Asian trade. East of Malacca, Albuquerque sent several diplomatic and exploratory missions, including to the Moluccas. Learning the secret location of theSpice Islands, mainly the Banda Islands, then the world source of nutmeg, he sent an expedition led byAntónio de Abreu to Banda, where they were the first Europeans to arrive, in early 1512.[30] Abreu's expedition reachedBuru,Ambon andSeram Islands, and then Banda.
From 1507 to 1515 Albuquerque tried to completely block Arab and other traditional routes that stretched from the shores of Western India to the Mediterranean Sea, through the conquest of strategic bases in the Persian Gulf and at the entry of the Red Sea.[citation needed]
By the early 16th century the Portuguese had complete control of the African sea route, which extended through a long network of routes that linked three oceans, from the Moluccas (the Spice Islands) in the Pacific Ocean limits, through Malacca,Kerala and Sri Lanka, toLisbon in Portugal.[citation needed]
TheCrown of Castile had organized the expedition ofChristopher Columbus to compete with Portugal for the spice trade with Asia, but when Columbus landed on the island ofHispaniola (in what is nowHaiti) instead of in theIndies, the search for a route to Asia was postponed until a few years later. AfterVasco Núñez de Balboa crossed theIsthmus of Panama in 1513, the Spanish Crown prepared awestward voyage byFerdinand Magellan in order to reach Asia from Spain across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. On October 21, 1520, his expedition crossed theStrait of Magellan in the southern tip of South America, opening the Pacific to European exploration. On March 16, 1521, the ships reached thePhilippines and soon after the Spice Islands, ultimately resulting decades later in theManila Galleon trade, the first westward spice trade route to Asia. After Magellan's death in the Philippines, navigatorJuan Sebastian Elcano took command of the expedition and drove it across the Indian Ocean and back to Spain, where they arrived in 1522 aboard the last remaining ship, theVictoria. For the next two-and-a-half centuries, Spain controlled a vast trade network that linked three continents: Asia, the Americas and Europe. A global spice route had been created: fromManila in the Philippines (Asia) toSeville in Spain (Europe), viaAcapulco inMexico (North America).[citation needed]
One of the most important technological exchanges of the spice trade network was the early introduction of maritime technologies to India, the Middle East, East Africa, and China by theAustronesian peoples. These technologies include the plank-sewn hulls,catamarans,outrigger boats, and possibly thelateen sail. This is still evident in Sri Lankan and South Indian languages. For example,Tamilpaṭavu,Telugupaḍava, andKannadapaḍahu, all meaning "ship", are all derived fromProto-Hesperonesian*padaw, "sailboat", with Austronesian cognates likeJavaneseperahu,Kadazanpadau,Maranaopadaw,Cebuanoparáw,Samoanfolau,Hawaiianhalau, andMāoriwharau.[14][13][15]
Austronesians also introduced manyAustronesiancultigens to southern India, Sri Lanka, and eastern Africa that figured prominently in the spice trade.[31] They includebananas,[32] Pacific domesticatedcoconuts,[33][34]Dioscorea yams,[35] wetland rice,[32]sandalwood,[36]giant taro,[37]Polynesian arrowroot,[38]ginger,[39]lengkuas,[31]tailed pepper,[40]betel,[12]areca nut,[12] andsugarcane.[41][42]
Hindu andBuddhist religious establishments of Southeast Asia came to be associated with economic activity and commerce as patrons, entrusted large funds which would later be used to benefit local economies by estate management, craftsmanship, and promotion of trading activities.[43]Buddhism, in particular, traveled alongside the maritime trade, promoting coinage, art, and literacy.[44]Islam spread throughout the East, reachingmaritime Southeast Asia in the 10th century; Muslim merchants played a crucial part in the trade.[45] Christian missionaries, such asSaint Francis Xavier, were instrumental in the spread ofChristianity in the East.[45] Christianity competed with Islam to become the dominant religion of the Moluccas.[45] However, the natives of the Spice Islands accommodated to aspects of both religions easily.[46]
The Portuguese colonial settlements saw traders, such as the Gujaratibanias, South IndianChettis,Syrian Christians, Chinese fromFujian province, and Arabs fromAden, involved in the spice trade.[47] Epics, languages, and cultural customs were borrowed by Southeast Asia from India, and later China.[4] Knowledge ofPortuguese language became essential for merchants involved in the trade.[48] The colonial pepper trade drastically changed the experience of modernity in Europe, and in Kerala and it brought, along with colonialism, early capitalism to India's Malabar Coast, changing cultures of work and caste.[49]
Indian merchants involved in spice trade tookIndian cuisine to Southeast Asia, notably present dayMalaysia andIndonesia, where spice mixtures andblack pepper became popular.[50] Conversely, Southeast Asian cuisine and crops was also introduced to India and Sri Lanka, whererice cakes andcoconut milk-based dishes are still dominant.[31][33][32][39][51]
European people intermarried with Indians andpopularized valuable culinary skills, such asbaking, in India.[52] Indian food, adapted to the European palate, became visible in England by 1811 as exclusive establishments began catering to the tastes of both the curious and those returning from India.[53] Opium was a part of the spice trade, and some people involved in the spice trade were driven by opium addiction.[54][55]
Media related toSpice trade at Wikimedia Commons
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