Then as the tentacles of the Roman Empire made their way down to Egypt, the Romans began to tap on the spice trade by developing their own sea route to India, which was a big spice emporium. http://www.asiatatlerdining.com/singapore

1. A SPICE JOURNEY
He, who controls spice, controls the universe. This was a grand statement
from the sci-fi movie Dune, but can be applied to a period of history spanning
thousands of years during which spices were a major force in the world
economy. The success of the spice route in its various incarnations over the
centuries was directly linked to the rise and fall of maritime powers – who
controlled the seas, controlled the spices. And spices made people rich.
The Spice Mystery
Spices began showing up in Africa over 3,500 years ago, according to an
Egyptian hieroglyphic inscription. This is the earliest known record of the spice
trade, and points to spices travelling up the eastern coast of Africa to Egypt in
the north. From there they made their way into Europe and West Asia. They
entered Africa from Madagascar, it is thought, and while no one is a hundred
per cent sure how they got there in the first place, theory has it that
Austronesian traders brought them via the Southern Ocean. Ancient vessels
laden with ginger, aloeswood, cinnamon, cassia and other exotic aromatics
landed on Africa’s eastern shores.
And while the inhabitants of this spice route saw spices showing up in their
marketplaces, they didn’t really know where these strange and beautiful
spices came from. “Paradise,” was the common answer. Without geographical
knowledge and navigational tools, they could only place spices in the realm of
myth. But the truth is, the spices came from Asia.
The Italian Equation
Then as the tentacles of the Roman Empire made their way down to Egypt,
the Romans began to tap on the spice trade by developing their own sea
route to India, which was a big spice emporium. But it was impossible to sail
from Rome via Egypt to India without traversing an overland section – the
Suez – and when Islamic powers rose up and shut off this caravan route, they
suffocated Rome’s spice trade.

2. Without the Romans in the picture, the direct sea link to India was left to the
Arab traders who wasted no time in monopolising it, carting their spices to
Europe through the Levant. Places in the Mediterranean, being geographically
closest to the Arab lands, were the first recipients of the spices. From this,
Venice ascended and became the chief trading post of spices between the
Middle East and Europe, accumulating incredible wealth in the process.
Golden Age of Spices
While Venice was flourishing in the west, another power was rising in the east
– Constantinople. Seized by the Ottomans, it became the seat of the fast
growing Ottoman Empire and the gateway through which trade from the
Middle East to Europe could be allowed – or controlled. Western Europe was
now at the mercy of the Ottomans, who could block the overland spice route
or exact heavy payment for access to it.
Unwilling to be subjected to Ottoman patrols, rulers in Western Europe went in
search of their own spice route. This is when, in the 14th century, the
Portuguese succeeded in sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, thereby
establishing a direct naval route from Europe to India and eliminating the need
to rely on the Middle East land/sea route. In 1497, Vasco da Gama reached
Calicut (in Kerala) and the spice trade of India fell back into European hands
again.
With the Ottomans out of the way, competition now was between different
European powers. While the Portuguese worked on sailing round the Cape,
the Spaniards were going the other direction, sailing west. In 1520, Ferdinand
Magellan found a strait that cut through South America and using that
eventually sailed to the Philippines. From there he went on to the Moluccas, or
the Spice Islands, establishing the first westward sea route from Europe to
Southeast Asia.
The Dutch and British followed suite, each setting up their East India Trading
Companies in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the jostling for territories in
Asia began. Under the colonialism of these two European powers, spices
poured into the West.
Says Kwan Lui, founder of Academy at-Sunrice, “The Dutch and English
monopolised the spice trade through the East India Company. Spices such as
cloves, nutmeg and pepper were shipped out and, in return, many Indian and

3. Arab spices were brought back.”
Indonesia became much sought after. Rich in spices, it was a chessboard for
the Dutch and British, who tried to outmaneuver each other for dominance.
Says Kwan, “Nutmeg, for instance, was found to help people survive the
plague, and was a prized commodity. The Dutch and English fought a number
of spice wars in the island of Banda and Run for the monopoly of nutmeg. In
fact, in the 1661 Treaty of Breda, the Dutch gave up the island of Manhattan
for the island of Run!”
Not Too Spicy
Spices continued to be highly valued commodities until the advent of
refrigeration in the mid-19th century. As technology for chilling and freezing
food grew, so trade in spices slowly declined. Today, spices are no longer the
big business of explorers, monarchs and traders, and are relegated to the
hands of farmers, food trading companies and supermarkets. But they still
play an important part in many cultures – for their culinary, medicinal and
cosmetic value – and in the kitchens and restaurants of all good chefs.
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