TechnologySoutheast Asia
The Spice Islands in world trade
Cloves and nutmeg grew only here — and the whole world wanted them
See it on the timeline →In depth
A clove has been found in a jar in Syria dated to 1700 BCE, which would mean trade over ten thousand kilometres in the Bronze Age — the find is disputed, but the trade is undeniably ancient. Knowledge of the source was a business secret Arab and Malay merchants protected for centuries, and Magellan's whole voyage was in effect an attempt to get round it.
For children
Cloves grew only on five small islands in the Moluccas, and nutmeg only on Banda. The spices reached Rome and China long before anyone in the West knew where they came from. The search for the source drove the European voyages.
Connects to
Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org