Spice Route

The Spice Routes connected the East and West for over two thousand years, supplying civilizations with spices like cinnamon, cardamom, cassia, cloves, pepper, nutmeg, saffron, and turmeric. These spices have been used not only to enhance the colors and flavors of food but also for healing illnesses. Some of the earliest references have been found in Chinese, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Persian literature. With many fascinating legends surrounding the origins of these spices, let's dive into the stories of the spice trade!

Spice Route Definition

The Spice Routes, also known as the "Maritime Silk Roads," linked the East with the West. These routes stretched from the West Coast of Japan, through the Indonesian islands, around India, into the lands of the Middle East, and finally across the Mediterranean to Europe. Similar to the Silk Route, the Spice Routes did not have a singular path, instead, it was a network of multiple routes.

Fig. 1 Maritime Silk Road trading vessel

The Spice Routes were meant to bring goods to buy and sell from one port to another, and they received their name from their most profitable good: spices. This trade began as early as 2000 BC, though the history of civilizations making use of spices can be traced back (almost) to the very birth of civilization itself!

In its later history, "Spice Routes" simply became the name that stuck, as merchants also began carrying ivory, silk, porcelain, metals, and precious gemstones.

Fig. 2 Spices at a Bazaar in Istanbul

Spice Route Map

Below is the global map of the spice route.

Fig. 3 Spice Route Map

Spice Trade Route

As we can see from the map above, many cities were interconnected through the routes of the Spice Trade. Some of the major cities were Alexandria, Venice, Constantinople, and Kolkata.

The Spice Routes were quite dangerous to travel, and the rough seas only drove the merchants to increase the price of the spices. On top of that, with each stop made on the route, taxes, and tolls needed to be paid. This meant that by the time the spices finally got to Europe, their prices had become astronomically steep.

Let's see how the spice route first began and the theories surrounding how it came to be.

The Beginning

Approximately 2,500 years ago, the Arab traders of the Spice Routes told stories of large creatures that heavily guarded their spices. One of the most popular stories was that of the "cinnamologus," a bird who made its nest from cinnamon sticks. To get the cinnamon sticks, one had to bait the bird with meat, once the bird returned to its nest with the heavy meat, the nest would fall from the weight.

Naturally, no such bird ever existed, but it certainly kept competitors from trying to gather it for themselves! Both the Romans and the Greeks were deeply fooled by these stories and their demand for the spices only grew. The enormous demand gave rise to some of the first international trade routes and set the foundation of a world economy that can still be recognized today.

Fig. 4 Vasco Da Gama

When Rome collapsed in the year 250, the center of world trade was first moved to the Byzantine Empire, then back to Europe as the Dark Ages (476-1000) began. This is when Venice became a worldwide trading powerhouse! When the Muslims gained control over the Spice Routes, the Europeans fought in The Crusades in an attempt to maintain a large portion of the trading routes. In the end, a Portuguese explorer named Vasco da Gama discovered a new route to the lands of spices in 1498 and dominated the Indian Ocean trade.

A New Route

The new route discovered by da Gama took merchants around the southernmost tip of Africa, creating a direct route between Europe and India and successfully cutting out the middlemen of Arabia. On India's Malabar Coast, the spices were plentiful and cheap, and they created a spice empire centered in Goa, India.

Not only did da Gama's discovery strike a heavy blow on Arab traders financially, but he also violently attacked the Arab merchants he came across at sea to defend his new route.

Fig. 5 Vasco da Gama's Route to India

Over the next two centuries, the Dutch and English East India Companies burst into the Indian Ocean trade scene. They overtook most of Portugal's control of the spice trade and consistently battled each other for dominance. That is until the news broke of an incredible discovery that brought new, exotic flavors into Europe...

Flavors of the New World

During the 17th century, a new wave of flavors intrigued Europe, including chocolate, tea, coffee, tobacco, tomatoes, and so much more. With Europe colonizing the Americas, the Atlantic Slave Trade began, creating a network between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. This shameful system ripped people away from Africa, transported them to America for enslavement and the production of goods, then sent off the products to Europe for profit.

With the opening of new trade routes and the discovery of new lands, spices became much more accessible and most importantly, cheaper. This caused the great spice market to decline rapidly, with both the Dutch and English East India Companies crashing in the 18th-19th century.

Today, spices are no longer grown in restricted geographical areas or under the control of a specific trading company. Spice culture has now spread all across the world, far from its origins in Southeast Asia, and has become more or less of a routine commodity for multiple international entrepreneurs. The Spice Routes are viewed by historians as crucial to the development of maritime technology (especially in Europe, as maritime wars were becoming more common) and the discovery of new lands along with the development of powerful kingdoms.