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• 1 2023-06-19T13:13:55-07:00 Spices 4 Questioning why humans had a fascination for spices. plain 2023-07-09T02:36:11-07:00

  INTRODUCTION

  The term “spice” refers to a substance that is made from a plant and used to give a special flavor to food. These spices range from black pepper, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg; and they are a part of cuisines and cultures across the globe. Trade for these spices historically was a lucrative business for merchants to explore. Famously, the Venetians were well-known for entering the spice trade with the Ottoman Empire, which went against the wishes of the Pope during this time. Today, spices of all kinds are used in both traditional and modern cuisines across the globe.However, why is it important to think of spices as an historical phenomenon? What makes these kinds of plants relevant to that of wheat, rice, and corn? While food such as wheat and rice were pivotal crops for farming and consumption, spices are arguably under a category of luxury items for most of history. Merchants sought out this trade as kingdoms who harvested these spices were made and broken by these crops. To understand this further, let’s look at the activity below.

  ACTIVITY

  Let’s start by looking at the video on the spice trade:

  Now let’s learn about Roman trade with the Tamil kings:

  Now that we have gone through this activity, let’s answer the following questions in the comment section:

  1) Would you consider the historical use of spices as a historical phenomenon? Why?

  2) Would you consider spices to have a value similar to cereal crops (wheat, rice, etc.)?

  3) How does the spice trade reflect the desire for global trade similarly to the Romans and Tamil kings?