In the fifteenth century, Muslims had formed a “curtain” (80) which separated Europe from direct trade with India. One of the most famous attempts around the curtain was lead by Columbus, who attempted to sail west. His quest was ultimately unsuccessful due to a roadblock named America. A more profitable route was discovered in the 1420s, which involved sailing around the southern tip of Africa. After this discovery, spices were no longer exotic, but rather abundant and average, and in the 1600s, the price of spices began to decline. Distant origins gave spices their high price, an attribute unappealing today because of false assumptions that imported goods contribute to climate change. A counterexample, British tomatoes are grown
When one queries the assessment of the European commercial activities and its impact in the Atlantic Islands and West Africa between the years 1415 and 1600, trickery, social violence, intrusion and the horrors of slavery comes to mind. There were many negative impacts such as population loss, loss of self worth and loyalty, the Europeans involved caused the demise of the European cloth industry. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to set foot in this area in the fifteenth century. During the history of Portugal (1415-1542), Portugal discovered an eastern route to India that rounded the Cape of Good Hope, established trading
The European conquest of America began as an offshoot of the quest for a sea route to India, China, and the islands of the East Indies, the source of the silk, tea, spices, porcelain, and other luxury goods on which international trade in the early modern era centered. Profit and piety-the desire to eliminate Islamic middlemen and win control of the lucrative trade for Christian Western Europe-combined to inspire the quest for a direct route to Asia. Long before Columbus sailed, Europeans had dreamed of a land of abundance, riches, and ease beyond the western horizon. They hoped America would bring them a
If there was ever an important period historians, and people could put a finger on, this would be it. This is the important period where the world’s countries, kingdoms, and dynasties established trade routes. This is the period where countries were made and countries were destroyed because of the importance of trade and the importance of building a fundamental, religious, and economical way of life. This paper will discuss the goals and functions of trades, and traders, and a historical analysis of world trade. This paper will also get into world trade patterns, of The Americas, Sub-Saharan Africa, The Indian Ocean, The Silk routes, China and The South China Sea, Europe and The Mediterranean, and The Atlantic Exploration.
As stated in Paul Freedman’s, Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination, “The passion for spices underlies the beginning of the European colonial enterprise, a force that remade the demography, politics, culture, economy, and ecology of the entire globe” (Freedman 3). By the mid- fifteenth century, the Silk Road was deteriorating, leaving the world with the solid grasp on trading, as well as supply and demand. Every country and area had developed their “trade mark” and had adequate understanding on the process of trading. At this time, European’s still had many mysteries they were trying to solve, regarding demography, politics, culture, economy, and ecology, as Freedman mentioned. Spices gave European’s the gateway they needed to unlock many new ideas. This new desired commodity enabled European’s to think “outside the box,” which resulted in a multitude of uses for spices, which made them an even more luxurious item. According to Freedman, “Of all the world’s commodities, spices most dramatically affected history because they launched Europe on the path to eventual overseas conquest, a conquest whose success and failure affects every aspect of contemporary world politics” (3). Freedman exhibits here that spices not only affected Europe, but the whole world as well. Spices intertwined Europe with the rest of the world. Because spices were a undiscovered product by most of the world, it was a mystery on how they should be used, and what they should be used with.
So the Europeans have to trade with Asian countries to get spices. The 2 continents are connected by the Ottoman Empire (in the Middle East) lied between them. Of course this empire would tax whatever trade is going through their land. After a while, the Europeans can’t afford to keep the Ottoman Empire happy with the tax, so they decided to explore a sea-route to get to these Asian countries.
People living the the 15th century had multiple reasons for venturing beyond its confinement of land. Scientific curiosity of the world played a major part in the advancement of naval travel, but it was not the main cause of exploration in these times. The Age of Exploration was sparked by Europeans wanting to find sea routes to East Asia, which they called the Indies. Merchants and crusaders were bringing goods to Europe from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. These trade routes were controlled by the Muslims and the Italians. However, flaws
21. In their attempt to control the spice trade in the Indian Ocean, the Europeans during the period between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries
Furthermore the Europeans saw the Ottoman Empire as a threat and feared a new Muslim surge toward Europe. Additionally, the loss of the last European outposts in the Holy Land also eliminated the only European trading posts in the Eastern Mediterranean. All European trade with Asia had to then pass through Muslim merchants, who made it very expensive, only adding to European’s enmity to the new owners of what was renamed Istanbul. All of this impelled Europeans to go exploring new ways to get to China and India to resume the sought after trade for luxury
1: In the mid 15th century, European nations started to desire power, wealth, and resources. Because of this, they formulated motives to find quicker routes to the far east to trade for valuable luxuries, such as spices and silks. These products were in high demand Europe, and could sell at incredibly high prices. They were named luxuries for a reason though, as they had to travel thousands of miles through heated deserts and violent seas. Understandably, the merchants of Europe wanted to find an easier way to Asia. However, due to prevailing winds on the west coast of Africa, a voyage down the African coast would be a one way trip. This problem was later solved with the invention of Caravel, a ship that could make the journey back home against
Importance of the Weaknesses of the French Crown in Explaining the Outbreak of the French Wars of Religion in 1562
In his text/lecture “spices”, textbook argues that in 1499 Vasco De Gama reached the port of Calicut, on the Southwestern coast of India. It states that Gama and his crew were amazed and surprised by all the spices, including the rare silks and precious gems. Spices was a valuable thing because it brought different taste and spiced things up. There were all types of spices as ginger, cinnamon, and other Indian spices. The Portuguese filled their ships with spice’s.
With the collapse of the Great Silk Road, trade routes through the waters became more necessary. Muslims and Europeans fought over the Indian Ocean and the several prosperous ports (plus major cities and villages in Ethiopia) during the fifteenth and sixteenth century. (McKay et al., 2009) Although Muslims had controlled the Indian Ocean trade for centuries, Portugal’s ability to circumvent the southern tip of Africa led to war and Portugal’s eventual defeat of Muslim traders and their imperialism throughout the Southeast Asian market. Africa’s Swahili people and their ivory, copra and rhinoceros horns and China’s “age of commerce”, which was developing within the neighboring countries of Vietnam and Burma, multiplied the available goods for Europeans to bring back home. (McKay et al., 2009) Portugal, as with most European countries, was beginning their recovery financially after years of war and plague. With the growth of trade and the amount of people in the Indian Ocean area, religion quickly followed. (McKay et al., 2009) Again, Muslims and Europeans were in battle. But this time they fought for religious supremacy in numbers. Each faction quickly moved to convert as many people as possible. Settlements were formed, cities grew, and customs and culture began mixing in an early version of a melting pot. (McKay et al., 2009)
Returning crusader knights brought not jewels, but cinnamon, ginger, and peppercorns after exploration. The story of spices about 5000 years old, is also the history of trade and commerce. The American continent want to break the Arab traders' spice monopoly in European, then the spice route has been discovered. “Along the Spice Route” exhibit is based on the background and show art products about it from 41 artists. "Along the Spice Route" features 41 wall quilts depicting artistic interpretations of spices that refine
Vasco da Gama's revolutionary sea expedition to India is one of the most crucial moments in the entire history of exploration. Till the middle of 15th century, Portugal was the foremost seafaring country in Europe. King Manuel I: the ruler of Portugal hired about four ships for the voyage around Africa to the legendary land of India. King Manuel I knew that India was a huge cradle of variety of spices, which were extremely rare to see in other places and moreover they were pretty expensive in Europe. The king had also noticed that the Muslim merchants transported the spices by caravans through Arabian deserts and sold them in the markets of the Mediterranean ports. King Manuel I expected a new sea route to India, as that would enable him to import spices directly. This achievement was very important for Portugal as they could trade and earn money a lot of money from it. India was filled with spices: Pepper was a very common and the most used spice, it was used to preserve food and to flavor spoiled meat. Pepper was originated from Cochin and Malabar Coast in India. Cloves and cinnamon were equally used. They were used for keeping the food hygienic and ventilated. They were also sprinkled across the floor to avoid foot odor from entering the room. Many spices were also used for the cure of various illnesses and deadly diseases. India was the foremost spice trader for most of the countries including Europe.
Dutch colonization took hold of one of the largest producers of spice in the world Indonesia and its entire supply of spice. The Dutch controlled the global spice market by controlling the amount of spice produced to increasing demand in Europe causing the price of spice to increase to make the maximum amount of profit effectively monopolizing it through force “numerous trade routes were developed with neighbouring countries” (Wright Par 4)