History of Spices When examining the background of spices in general, it is very interesting to note how they have shaped our history. Spices were highly valuable commodities both during and before the Age of Exploration. This can be attributed to the fact that they served an important role in the food preservation process. Moreover, they were widely used as a flavor enhancer. As a result, spices emerged as key components of ancient economies, and competitions for the control of the spice trade have led to major consequences that have altered the course of history. Before the invention of the refrigerator, one of the common ways people preserved foods was through the use of salt and spices. For instance, salting allowed fishermen to preserve their fish while at sea, which was then very significant (LeCouteur and Burreson 296). This concept is still used today in products such as beef jerky and salted pork. In ancient times, however, people had to find a way to reduce the saltiness of salted foods, which is where spices come into play. Furthermore, spices such as pepper were used to mask the taste of rancid meat and help preserve dried foods (LeCouteur and Burreson 20). In addition to their significance in the preservation process, numerous spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and even pepper provide many health benefits. …show more content…
Moreover, since there was tremendous amount of demand for spices, it was extremely essential for nations to get involved in the spice trade to be well off economically. Around the fifteenth century, the city of Venice became synonymous with the spice trade. By having a monopoly on the spice trade, Venice was able to flourish, and became an idol for other nations and cities worldwide to follow. Its success was so prodigious that it inspired other nations to find other ways to India and get involved in the spice
Throughout the Middle Ages, cities in Afro-Eurasia grew as trade centers due to advantages such as faster transportation from the waters of the ocean. Calicut brought merchants together from all around Asia because the government protected them through laws and policies, also of their spices exclusively pepper. As a result of the exchanges happening in Calicut, there was a war between Calicut, Portuguese and Chinese forces heavily armed with men and many lethal weapons. People from China and Portugal wanted to trade for Calicuts specialties, specialties like spices especially pepper that made them more wanted than others. From trading people inherited culture, religion, and ups and downs from trade.
"On Food and History." 'On Food and History' N.p., 13 May 2008. Web. 25 Oct. 2013.
During the 15th century Europe had numerous changes. The population expanded rapidly which gave rise to new classes of merchants. European nations were very wealthy when it came to spices. Therefore, they traded them on the land route from Asia. These land routes were controlled by the Turkish Empire, which lead to many problems for the countries who were trying to trade these spices and acquire other valuables. This then steered them to begin searching for other routes of trade to essentially cut out the “middle man”. A race then began to erupt between many European countries such as Portugal, Spain, France, and England. These four countries all wanted to be the first to discover new land. However, Portugal pulled ahead and sailed along
Venetian merchants had an advantage they were granted special privilege to trade by the Byzantine Empire. Venice in the renaissance was greatest trading power in the world. The trading connected Europe to the eastern world. The trading products consisted of animal skin, salt and minerals, sugar, wax, wool, metal, spices, drugs, precious metals like gold and silver. Venice received luxury goods from the east and raw material was sent to east form northern Europe. Trade and banking went hand in hand. The branches of Medici Bank were present in Venice and all the other big cities in the renaissance time. The currency and the banking systems by the Medici Bank supported the expansion of trade. Through the system, accounts were structured around the two traders which were helpful and handy for the traders. The level of convenience was a root cause of booming trades between the traders. Banking caused the expansion of trading while trade created a new division of banking. ( TAKE ABOUT THE
There is something catchy when Isaiah Mustafa tells us about becoming a man, like when he is speaking to the consumers in the Old Spice commercial. Pathos, Ethos, and Logos are used in the Old Spice commercial by evoking the emotional appeal, presenting good character, and by logical reasoning. These three things are what makes the perfect commercial or an ad. It tries to persuade people into buying their product, maybe by an emotional appeal or persuasion. They will even tell you that the viewers are wrong and that a person is missing out, because the people do not own their product. In this commercial by Old Spice, they are trying to sell their body wash. Isaiah Mustafa uses words like “Be a man like me, by using an Old Spice body wash.” By saying that quote from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE it tells us he will be trying to persuade us from the start.
A mostly non violent conflict that occasionally flared into brutality. And indirectly contributed to the collapse of the Roman Empire that spent two digit tonnes of gold on importing spices annually, which later helped spread the plague to Italy. Later in the 16th century the English and Dutch stepped up to compete in spice trade and global violence. Some regimes were established to control nutmeg and mace production. Locals were enslaved for workforce, power was ruthlessly enforced by mercenary samurai warriors hired in Japan and problematic villages razed. Spices commanded such high prices because of the mystery surrounding them as well as their string flavors and strong, pleasant scents. Battles were fought over control od the spice trade, especially by the Portuguese, but in the end, as people grew tired of over spiced food, and the mystery surrounding the spice’s origins were discovers, spices greatly decreased in value. However, the spice trade influenced explores to go out in search of new trade routes to cut out Muslim middlemen, discovering new routes to Asia and even the discovery of the
A bag of nutmeg back in the colonization era could buy you a house in downtown London. Nutmeg was a very well known and expensive kind of spice back then in Indonesia, voyagers from other countries would sail across the world to get a bag of it (Legacy of the Dutch). The price of nutmeg was approximately 119 rupees, or in Indonesian, rupiah, it would be 24,000 rupiah (the Dutch east India company and economy of Bengal). Nutmeg was a spice that was very valuable to the Dutch back then and also to Indonesia. Spices were very valuable in the colonization era back then, one of the most valuable spices were nutmeg, nutmeg is a spice that was used as sickness remedies for certain kinds of sicknesses such as colds and fevers. Nutmeg was believed to be used for curing headaches, fever, and even bad breath, nutmeg could be used for cooking and was believed to be able to cure plagues, during those times, nutmeg was considered very expensive, one bag of nutmeg was enough to provide someone with enough
How did spice change everything in the 1400s? Many European traders arose and set out to find these spices that were foreign to them and native the new land. The man that set out to find trade routes but ended up finding a revolution in the spice world, what cinnamon is and what isn’t, what was done next to further more the exploration, and spices are spread across this new land. The intension to find the spices found was not intended, but it was the accident that changed development and exploration.
Once again, the irony of the events is shown. I find it quite interesting how much the origins of the food/spices matter to the price. Like a certain spice may cost
The cuisine of Peru is a combination between traditional Amerindian cooking and the cuisine of the Spanish conquistadors that came into the country in the 16th century. Maize, beans, and potatoes were the standard ingredients of the pre-Columbian cooking in Peru. These three staples remain an integral part of Peruvian cuisine and were ex...
- Food: The History of Taste, Paul Freedman, Chapter Six: New Worlds, New Tastes, (pgs. 197-232), and Chapter Seven: The Birth of the Modern Consumer Age, (pgs. 263-300), and Chapter Nine: Dining Out (pgs. 301-332)
However, due to the effects of globalization, modern African cuisine and cooking draws upon an assortment of ethnic traditions merged with the seasonings and tastes of outside countries (AIG, 2011). In general, European explorers and traders introduced several important food staples to t...
Food Preservatives are added to food to reduce the decomposition period. Although some food preservatives are naturally found in some of Earths fruits, vegetables, and beans, many food preservatives are man-made chemicals and toxins to extend the life of food to an unnatural level. MedX India researched on how “Substances that are added to food items in order to inhibit, retard, or arres...
Today, India is the second most populous country in the world. The culture of India is also among the oldest to survive, reaching back to nearly 5,000 years. India received their inde-pendence from Britain on August 15th, 1947, thus allowing them to become the most populous democracy in the world. There are many aspects as to what makes India unique, one principle in particular is their food. Indian cooking is vivid, exquisite, and simply delicious. It depends on a wide variety of spices, herbs, and grains for its specific taste. The different types of food which India carry include basic spices, traditional foods, and tasty snacks. It is notable that India has been one of the world’s main dealer of spices for at least 3,600 years.
Food Preservation is the ways to retain the food quality in a longer times. It is to prevent the food decomposition and fermentation. Besides that, food preservation not only to prevent the food getting spoilt in a long period of time but also preserved the colour, taste and the food nutritive value. Nowadays, food preservation has become more and more important component in the food industry as the consumers expect that able to purchase those foods that are out of season or imported from other countries. Furthermore, there are few reason why food preservation is important in our daily life such as preservation foods when they are in season it may added variety choices in our meals for example smoke meats and