Spices from the East mainly include fragrant plants such as pepper, cinnamon and clove, which can greatly improve the taste of dishes, so they have been greatly sought after by nobles after being introduced to Europe.
Oriental spices were first introduced to the Middle East in Sumerian period, and there was a great demand for spices by the nobles in Roman Empire.
European aristocrats are naturally not stupid, and they don't want to spend a lot of money to buy this oriental spice, but it's a pity that plants with fragrance are mainly produced in India and some tropical areas in East Asia, and the climate in Europe is doomed that spices can't be planted in Europe. Even if the aristocrats don't want to, they can only hold their noses and be slaughtered by these traders walking between Europe and Asia.
And these traders walking between Europe and Asia are also willing to sell these spices from the East, because in that era when shipping was not developed, spices not only had the characteristics of light weight and non-perishable, but most importantly, their profits were extremely high. After being transported from South Asia to Europe, the price of spices can be fully increased by more than 100 times, which brings great intermediate profits to these vendors.
And these spices are also very cheap to buy in South Asia and East Asia, which is why the most profitable spice trade is often not the place of origin, but these Persian businessmen and Venetian businessmen who earn the difference. In some periods, spices such as pepper were as heavy as gold and were luxury consumer goods of the aristocratic class.
The high price of spices makes it a favorite luxury of European nobles. In some periods, spices have not only been used as condiments to increase the flavor of dishes, but also as a symbol of showing off and rich family wealth.
2, the war caused by spices
Whoever controls the spice route to the East will make a fortune, which is a knowledge in Europe at that time. During the Roman Empire, Rome was besieged by Goths and Huns several times, and these tribes demanded a ton of pepper for Rome. Based on these European aristocrats' crazy attachment to spices, spices can be used as a common currency in Europe.
As long as the European aristocrats did not find a large number of aromatic plants that could replace oriental spices, these businessmen could make a lot of money from them.
But unfortunately, in this long route from South Asia to Europe, no one knows where these mysterious oriental spices come from except the buyers in India. A bag of pepper is going to the European aristocrats, among which it has to be changed hands by businessmen from various countries for twelve times. Every transaction link in it is closed-loop, and no one knows where the original source is.
After 12 transactions, not to mention the profits that middlemen need to earn, but also the taxes and fees of customs clearance in various countries, which also made the purchase price from South Asia reach the hands of Venetian businessmen, and the price of a bag of pepper has more than doubled.
While pursuing spices, European aristocrats also want to share a little bonus in this closed-loop spice route, which also causes conflicts in Europe because of plain spices until war breaks out. After all, even noble lords who are high above them have to earn money to support their families.
14 15 years ago, King Joao I of Portugal, who had not yet ascended the throne, took his son and led troops to lay down Ceuta on the other side of the Gibraltar Strait, and this city named Ceuta was a spice transfer station where a large number of oriental spices gathered.
Joao I hoped to find out where these spices came from from among these perfumers and then make a lot of profits from them. But unfortunately, Joao I was stationed in Ceuta for a long time and didn't ask for any clues.
Until 14 17, Prince Enrique, the son of Joao I, was stationed in Ceuta for three months with heavy troops in response to the Moorish counterattack. During this period, Prince Enrique learned an important information from the mouth of a prisoner-just enter the desert south, and after crossing the desert, you can find an oasis with lush paradise peppers.
After Prince Enrique passed the news to Joao I, they still faced a problem. In the Middle Ages, almost no country could cross such a large desert and then exchange goods safely. If the Portuguese want to reach the so-called spice producing area, it is impossible to go by land and only by sea.
Prince Enrique happened to be a person who was not interested in the throne. In order to reach the mysterious spice producing area, he used his own financial resources to establish the world's first navigation college in Sagrish, the southernmost tip of Portugal, and then Portugal's navigation technology advanced by leaps and bounds.
Portuguese statue of the discoverer of Reese
1488, after a storm, Dias unexpectedly found himself at the southern tip of Africa, and ten years later, under the leadership of Dias's younger brother, Da Gama came to a place called Jizhao River on the east coast of Africa.
Here da gama saw many huge merchant ships, compared with Portugal's fleet, it was just a small fish and shrimp. When D 'Gama's fleet finally arrived in Ricart, he finally found the origin of this legendary spice.
The locals are not surprised by Portuguese ships, because they have seen too many huge merchant ships. However, when Da Gama offered to exchange Portuguese treasures such as olive oil, washbasin and coral beads for spices, it was rejected by local spice merchants.
The Portuguese underestimated how deeply the interests of the spice producing areas were involved, and the local king's power had already formed an extremely complicated balance with Middle Eastern businessmen and Arabs. The sudden arrival of the Portuguese undoubtedly broke this balance. Portugal wants to buy spices from India and transport them to Europe, which is undoubtedly breaking the iron rice bowl of these middlemen. Neither the king of Kallikat nor the local businessmen will agree.
D 'Gama and the Portuguese fleet could not defeat the ruling power of India, so they had to leave in a hurry and return to Europe to inform the Portuguese king. When the news came into Portugal, another group of diehard Portuguese nobles sent fourteen armed ships to Kallikat, but they were rejected again.
After being rejected twice in a row, the Portuguese also knew that it was impossible to make a peaceful deal. This time, they chose to force trade by force. If they wanted to win the spice route, they had to use guns to make the local forces compromise.
1505, the king of Portugal appointed Alme as the governor of Portugal, and the Portuguese fleet led by the old Alme launched a wanton attack on India. The merchant ships in the Middle East and the ports in the Persian Gulf were all within Portugal's attack range, and the part of the Middle East merchants who monopolized the spice trade in the past was officially cut off.
However, when Portugal was about to completely rule the spice producing area, it was unexpectedly attacked by Ricart, Egypt, Venice and Ottoman, and Portuguese talents suffered a big loss for the first time.
However, after the arrival of Alfonso, Portugal won the battle again and successfully incorporated the spice producing area into the territory of Portugal. 15 1 1 year, Alfonso, the successor of the old Alme, led a warship to occupy the Straits of Malacca, which meant that Portugal completely controlled the throat of the whole spice trade, and no bag of pepper could escape under the eyes of the Portuguese.
15 15 When Alfonso died of illness, in the interest chain of spice origin from East Africa to Southeast Asia, more than 100 Portuguese warships were escorted and supervised here, and more than 40 Portuguese maritime fortresses controlled the exchanges of merchant ships along the way. All spices could only reach the hands of European nobles through Lisbon.
3, the decline of spice trade
Spice wants to sell at a high price, which means it must be kept in the shipped quantity. However, as more and more spices are shipped to Europe and American peppers are discovered, the prices of these mysterious spices originating in the East are getting lower and lower, so that ordinary European civilians can afford them later.