Brief History of the Spice Trade

Spices have been around for tens of thousands of years. In fact, the earliest recorded use of spices by humans in their cooking was shown to be around 50,000 B.C. The spice trade, however, developed much later throughout the Middle East in 2000 B.C. with cinnamon and pepper at the centre of it.

The Egyptians helped spur the world trade of spices and by 1000 B.C. the Chinese and the Indians had invented a system of treating the sick based upon herbs and spices and their medicinal benefits. Aside from medicine, spices were also connected to magic, religion, tradition and preservation. In the Middle Ages, they were among the most luxurious products traded in Europe, with the most common being black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.

Asia and Africa held the monopoly of the spice trade at this time, but in the 8th until the 15th century, the monopoly shifted to the favour of the Italian republic of Venice, especially in the Middle East. With the discovery of the New World, new spices began to be introduced, including allspice, bell and chilli peppers, vanilla and chocolate. This development kept the spice trade going and very profitable well into the 19th century up until the present, with America being a new trader in the industry. Today, people have discovered many other varieties of spices, which are all used to enhance different recipes. Further, spice racks have proven useful as a container for all these kinds of spices in today's homes.