The Spice Trade

Spices like pepper, cinnamon, and cloves were once as valuable as gold. They came from distant lands in Asia and were highly prized in Europe. The desire for spices helped launch the Age of Exploration. Countries competed to control the spice trade and became very wealthy.

Why Spices Were So Valuable

In the Middle Ages, spices were used to flavor food, make medicine, and preserve meat. They came from faraway places like India, China, and the Spice Islands. The journey to get them was long and dangerous. Each trader along the route added to the price, making spices very expensive.

Exploration for Spices

Europeans wanted to find a direct route to the spice-producing lands. Portuguese explorers sailed around Africa to reach India. Christopher Columbus sailed west looking for a spice route and found the Americas instead. The spice trade changed the map of the world forever.

Fun Facts

• In medieval Europe, a pound of pepper could cost as much as a pound of gold.
• The Spice Islands, now called the Maluku Islands in Indonesia, were the only source of cloves and nutmeg.
• Vasco da Gama's voyage to India in 1498 opened a direct sea route for the spice trade.

Did You Know?

The spice trade was so profitable that countries went to war over tiny islands that grew nutmeg and cloves.