Spice trade

Uncommon card · No. 112857

The spice trade involved historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe. Spices, such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, star anise, clove, and turmeric, were known and used in antiquity and traded in the Eastern world. These spices found their way into the Near East before the beginning of the Christian era, with fantastic tales hiding their true sources. The maritime aspect of the trade was dominated by the Austronesian peoples in Southeast Asia, namely the ancient Indonesian sailors who established routes from Southeast Asia to Sri Lanka and India, and later China, by 1500 BC. These goods were then transported by land toward the Mediterranean and the Greco-Roman world via the incense route and the Roman–India routes by India and Persia traders. The Austronesian maritime trade lanes later expanded into the Middle East and East Africa by the 1st millennium AD, resulting in the Austronesian colonization of Madagascar. Within specific regions, Somalia...

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